According to Editor & Publisher (which has done fine reporting on this story), Matthew Cooper, one of the reporters facing jail time for refusing to divulge confidential sources in the Novak-Plame-gate affair, will be represented in the Supreme Court not by First Amendment bigwig Floyd Abrams, but by former Solicitor General Ted Olsen. Up ’til now, Abrams has jointly represented Cooper and Judith Miller, but now it appears that Cooper and Miller have parted ways. It will be most interesting to see whether, as Abrams says, there is no "substantive" difference between the two reporters’ petitions to the Court, or whether Olsen will try a slightly different tack (we have previously noted worries about Abrams’ strategy in this case). Olsen is as savvy a Supreme Court litigator as any, and he probably has a better feel for what will work in that Court and what won’t than does Abrams. The reporters’ petitions are due to be filed May 10, so we should know soon. Stay tuned….
