Jailed Writer To Appeal Court Decision

By: Todd Shields Lawyers will ask a federal appeals court to free Vanessa Leggett, a free-lance author jailed in Houston since July 20 for refusing to submit to a subpoena.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Aug. 17 refused to free Leggett, whose research into a Houston murder is sought by federal prosecutors.

Lawyers next week will ask the full 14-judge 5th Circuit to take up the case, said Paul Nugent, an attorney for Leggett. Should the full appeals court decline to the take up the case, lawyers will seek a hearing before the U.S. Supreme Court, Nugent added.

Press groups say Leggett?s jailing raises the prospect that the government, by wielding subpoenas, could seek to turn journalists into investigative agents. Federal officials have said they do not consider Leggett a journalist.