Sufficient Cause
Statutes enacted in some states which declare that communications between news reporters and informants are confidential and privileged and thus cannot be testified to in court. this is similar to the doctor-patient, lawyer-client or priest-parishioner privilege. the concept is to allow a journalist to perform his/her function of gathering news without being ordered to reveal his/her sources and notes of conversations. in states which have no shield law, many judges have found reporters in contempt of court (and given them jail terms) for refusing to name informants or reveal information gathered on the promise of confidentiality.
