BAIS HAVAAD PARSHA PERSPECTIVES Parshas Vayikra: Confidentiality in Halachah: Can Beis Din Make You Spill the Beans? By: Rabbi Tzvi Price

In 2004, Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada co-authored a book entitled Game of Shadows while they were reporters for the San Francisco Chronicle. The book documented the widespread use of performance-enhancing steroids among high-profile athletes and it dropped a bombshell on the sports industry. The book’s two authors received numerous journalism awards for their investigative work. On May 5, 2006, Fainaru-Wada and Williams were subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury about how they obtained leaked grand jury testimony. The authors urged United States District Judge Martin Jenkins to excuse them from testifying, but their appeal was denied and they were sentenced to 18 months in prison for contempt of court. During the entire proceedings, Fainaru-Wada and Williams repeatedly stated that they would go to prison before revealing their sources. However, the two avoided jail time when federal investigators identified attorney Troy Ellerman as the individual responsible for the leaked information.