The Northern editor of the Sunday Tribune, Mr Ed Moloney, has said he was "totally confident" the High Court would find in his favour today.
He was sure he would be granted a judicial review of a ruling ordering him to hand over interview notes with a self-confessed RUC informer, Mr William Stobie, or face jail. "I am totally and absolutely confident of victory. I just can't see how any judge could rule against me in the wake of Mr Stobie's recent release on bail," Mr Moloney said yesterday.
Four weeks ago, the Lord Chief Justice Sir Robert Carswell and Mr Justice Kerr reserved judgment on Mr Moloney's application for a judicial review at the High Court in Belfast. Mr Moloney said he would not fight on if his application failed.
Mr Stobie has been charged with involvement in the killing of the Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane, 10 years ago, and has been released on bail.
Mr Moloney has refused to comply with the order on the grounds that handing over interview notes would be a breach of journalistic ethics and could jeopardise his career. He could face up to five years imprisonment if today's judgment goes against him.
Mr Moloney said he felt his prosecution was a "punishment" for alleging security force collusion in Mr Finucane's killing.