For Immediate Release August 31, 2006
Ninth Circuit Grants Bail for Jailed Journalist Josh Wolf
Lawyers Guild Hopeful, Strong Free Speech Decision Possible
Contact Carlos Villarreal at 415-285-5067 x 10
or Dan Siegel at 510-839-1200 x 4
SAN FRANCISCO - The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted bail today to
Josh Wolf - the independent journalist and blogger who was jailed August 1st
for refusing to turn over video footage to a federal grand jury.
Press Conference
Friday, September 1 at 1 p.m.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit Building
95 Seventh Street in San Francisco
Speakers: Josh Wolf, Attorney Dan Siegel of Siegel & Yee, Carlos Villarreal
of the National Lawyers Guild
Since Wolf's jailing a number of organizations besides the National Lawyers
Guild have voiced support for Wolf and condemnation of the Federal
Government. This month the Society For Professional Journalists made a
donation of $30,000 to his defense. The ACLU and the Reporters Committee for
Freedom of the Press have both filed amicus curiae on behalf of Wolf. The
San Francisco Board of Supervisors, led by Ross Mirkarimi and Tom Ammiano,
also adopted a resolution this month urging the passage of a Federal Shield
Law and condemning the federal government's actions in the Wolf case. The
resolution charges that the grand jury is an "attempt to circumvent the
local judicial system," since the crime being investigated involves an
alleged attack on a San Francisco police car.
"This provides some vindication and we are cautiously optimistic about what
the Ninth Circuit will ultimately decide," said Carlos Villarreal, Executive
Director of the National Lawyers Guild San Francisco Bay Area. "We are
hopeful that the justices are going to consider the importance of a free and
independent media, especially when journalists are covering free speech
activities."
Josh Wolf was ordered in contempt by Federal Judge William Alsup on August
1st. The US Attorney's Office, led by Assistant US Attorney Jeffrey
Finigan, wants Wolf to testify before a federal grand jury and hand over a
video tape of a protest that occurred in San Francisco's Mission District
last July.
Court documents and past news articles can be found at
http://joshwolf.net/grandjury/