Facing Jail Time, Reporter Turns Over Notes to Court

Faced with jail for contempt of court, a reporter for the San Diego Union-Tribune bowed Tuesday to a judge’s demand that he turn over unpublished material from a jailhouse interview with an accused killer.

J. Harry Jones, 40, who has been with the newspaper for 13 years, provided Superior Court Judge John Thompson with a transcript of his notes from an interview with Jacob Isaac Henderson, an ex-convict accused of three murders.

Jones’ decision came after the state Supreme Court, without comment, refused Monday to overturn an appellate court’s decision to uphold the contempt citation issued by Thompson.

In the interview, Henderson recanted his earlier confession made to authorities. His attorneys insist that Henderson cannot get a fair trial unless they have access to all statements made by their client to Jones.

If Jones had been jailed, Thompson had vowed to keep him there until Henderson’s trial was complete. The trial has not yet been scheduled and, because of pretrial motions, may not take place for a year or more, officials said.

Harold W. Fuson Jr., vice president and chief legal officer of Copley Press, which publishes the Union-Tribune, said that once the Supreme Court refused to act, the newspaper--which provided the reporter’s legal support--was left without viable appeal options.

The state “shield law” protects journalists from divulging sources or unpublished or unbroadcast materials. But various cases have chipped away at that protection, particularly in cases--such as Henderson’s--in which a criminal defendant is facing the death penalty.

Fuson said the notes did not divulge any confidential sources or off-the-record material. “These were leftovers that for reasons of space or news judgment [Jones] had opted not to use in his story,” Fuson said.

Jones said he decided to comply with Thompson’s order just minutes before a scheduled hearing at which he could have been sent to jail. “I’ve been back and forth on this for weeks,” Jones said.

At the same hour Jones provided the transcript to the judge, the Union-Tribune posted a copy on its Web site.