Friday, February 16, 2007
Writers to avoid jail time
To update a story I talked about earlier, it seems the two San Francisco Chronicle writers who faced 18 months in jail for failing to reveal the source of their leak in the BALCO investigation will avoid jail time.
Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams may not be headed to prison because the source of their leak has chosen to reveal himself. Troy Ellerman, who briefly represented BALCO founder Victor Conte, struck a deal to plead guilty on the terms that the writers would avoid jail time. He could be sentenced to two years in prison and a $250, 000 fine.
Ellerman had sworn under oath to not being the source of the leak, even going as far as blaming the government as the source to cover his tracks. However, in a turn of events, he decided to face the music and accept his punishment instead of letting the writers suffer for it.
Ultimately, the right decision was made. If the writers hadn't been sentenced to serve time, the genesis of their source would probably have remained unknown until the issue was irrelevant. Ellerman clearly abused the power that was given to him and should be punished justly. Maybe this may serve as a deterrent to other lawyers or officials of the court who want to get involved in illegal activities pertaining to their jobs from doing so.
Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams may not be headed to prison because the source of their leak has chosen to reveal himself. Troy Ellerman, who briefly represented BALCO founder Victor Conte, struck a deal to plead guilty on the terms that the writers would avoid jail time. He could be sentenced to two years in prison and a $250, 000 fine.
Ellerman had sworn under oath to not being the source of the leak, even going as far as blaming the government as the source to cover his tracks. However, in a turn of events, he decided to face the music and accept his punishment instead of letting the writers suffer for it.
Ultimately, the right decision was made. If the writers hadn't been sentenced to serve time, the genesis of their source would probably have remained unknown until the issue was irrelevant. Ellerman clearly abused the power that was given to him and should be punished justly. Maybe this may serve as a deterrent to other lawyers or officials of the court who want to get involved in illegal activities pertaining to their jobs from doing so.
