Josh Wolf loses another legal round, remains
jailed
Josh Wolf
Photo(s) by
Luke Thomas
By Julia Cheever, Bay City News Service
November 17, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) - A jailed journalist lost another
round Thursday in his challenge to a contempt-of-court finding
that has kept him in a federal prison in Dublin for nearly three
months for refusing to give a videotape to a grand jury.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco turned
down freelance videojournalist Josh Wolf's request for review
of his case by an expanded 15-judge panel.
Wolf, 24, of San Francisco, was found
in contempt of court by U.S. District Judge William Alsup
on Aug. 1 for refusing to give a federal grand jury unaired sections
of a videotape he made of an anarchist demonstration in San Francisco
on July 8, 2005.
The grand jury is investigating a possible attempted arson of
a police car that was partly paid for with federal funds.
Wolf contends that the grand jury's subpoena for the tape and
his testimony would violate his First Amendment rights and force
him to act as a spy for the government.
Wolf lost an earlier round of appeal when a three-judge panel
of the 9th Circuit upheld Alsup's finding on Sept. 11.
His attorney, Dan Siegel, was not immediately available for comment.
Wolf was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution
in Dublin from Aug. 1 to Sept. 1. He was then freed while his
appeal was considered, but was ordered
back to prison on Sept. 22 by the appeals court and has remained
in custody since then.
Alsup is scheduled to hold a hearing on Tuesday on Wolf's request
to be freed temporarily for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Wolf could be kept in prison until the grand jury's term expires
in July.
He sold some parts of the videotape to local television stations
and posted some sections on his
website.
Copyright © 2006 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication,
Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent
of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
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