Los Angeles Herald-Examiner - Jailing of William Farr

Jailing of William Farr

During the 1970 Los Angeles murder trial of Charles Manson and his followers, who were charged with the 1969 murders of actress Sharon Tate and six others, Herald Examiner reporter William (Bill) Farr reported in an article that Manson had planned to murder Elizabeth Taylor and Frank Sinatra.

Farr was summoned by Judge Charles Older to divulge his sources for the article. Farr refused. But at that time Farr had left the Herald Examiner to work for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and later for the Los Angeles Times. Farr cited the California reporters shield law that protected him from revealing his sources, but Older ruled that since Farr was no longer a journalist he was required to hand over his notes.

Farr continued to refuse to reveal his sources and was jailed for 46 days in 1972-73 on a contempt of court citation. Although he was released from custody, his case dragged through the courts for several years. The courts, however, recognized that a journalist could spend the rest of his life in jail if he refuses to divulge his sources on moral principle. In 1974, the California state Court of Appeal determined in Re Farr (36 C.A. 3d 577, 1974) that a procedure had to be adopted that allowed the courts to hold a hearing to consider a contempt of court citation involving the shield law. The first issue was whether a reporter was refusing to reveal sources by invoking the shield on “moral principle.” The second consideration by the court was whether incarcerating the reporter would likely induce him or her to reveal the sources. In 1976, the state appellate court finally set aside the contempt citation.

The Farr case in effect strengthened the California shield law and served as a precedent in future shield law cases involving journalists.