Ms Vanessa Leggett, the journalist who has been jailed for two months in Texas for refusing to turn interview notes over to the federal government, has lost her court appeal and is planning another, her lawyer, Mr Mike deGeurin, said.
Jailed since July 20th for refusing to give a grand jury her notes and tapes for a book on a society murder case, Ms Leggett will ask the full 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals to review a three-judge panel's ruling against her.
Last Friday, the 5th Circuit panel ruled that US District Judge Melinda Harmon did not abuse her discretion in finding Leggett in contempt of court for refusing to supply subpoenaed information to a grand jury investigating former bookie Mr Robert Angleton.
"Ms Leggett understands the legal process can mean more time in jail," Mr DeGeurin said. "She's there at the insistence of the government and prepared to resist the oppression and intimidation to assert the right of the public to a free and independent press."
The case has drawn international attention, especially from journalists' groups. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the American Society of Newspapers and the Radio-Television News Directors Association filed a court brief on her behalf.
More than two dozen news organisations, including television networks, joined the legal effort. SPJ's Legal Defense Fund contributed $12,500 to Leggett's defence, while editorials have condemned the journalist's "persecution".
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, three international organisations and conservative activist Paul Weyrich, among others, have called on US Attorney General John Ashcroft to free Ms Leggett.
Paul McMasters, writing for the First Amendment Center, said of the case: "When press freedom and law enforcement priorities collide, which better serves democratic principles and interests: subjecting the First Amendment rights of the press to criminal sanctions, or compelling the government to exhaust its own formidable investigative resources before jailing an innocent civilian independently recording the process for the public?"
Others have suggested that the FBI went after Ms Leggett because she is a freelancer and does not enjoy the protection of a major news organisation. They declined to pursue other news organisations also working on the story, including CBS News.
Ms Leggett had planned to write a book about a celebrated murder case and interviewed one of the principals - who subsequently committed suicide. Under US law, Ms Leggett would remain in jail for 17 months, until the grand jury term expires.