The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the cases of Matthew Cooper and Judith Miller, two reporters facing jail for refusing to reveal their sources.

An excerpt from the NYT story (first seen at CanadianJournalist.ca):

The case now returns to the federal district court in Washington, where its chief judge, Thomas F. Hogan, is expected to hear arguments this week about when and where the reporters, Judith Miller of The New York Times and Matthew Cooper of Time magazine, will begin to serve their time.

The special prosecutor in the case, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, is likely to ask that the reporters be jailed immediately. Lawyers for the reporters may ask Judge Hogan for permission to file additional briefs.

"I am extremely disappointed," Ms. Miller said in a statement. "Journalists simply cannot do their jobs without being able to commit to sources that they won't be identified. Such protection is critical to the free flow of information in a democracy."

Arthur Sulzberger Jr., the publisher of The New York Times, added: "It is shocking that for doing some routine newsgathering on an important public issue, keeping her word to her sources, and without our even publishing a story about the C.I.A. agent, Judy finds herself facing a prison sentence.

"That 49 states and many countries around the globe provide broad protection for journalists who have promised confidentiality to their sources, makes today's decision even more disappointing. And it is doubly painful that the court rejected our case in the face of the plea of 34 state attorneys general, prosecutors who normally seek journalists' evidence, that anonymous sources are critical to provide information to the public."

Time Inc. issued a statement suggesting that it had not come to a final decision about whether to comply with the court orders in the case.

"We think it premature for Time Inc. and Matt Cooper to articulate final positions until Judge Hogan has ruled on our request for review and reassessment," the statement said.

Judge Hogan held the reporters in civil contempt in October for refusing to cooperate in a grand jury's investigation of the disclosure of the identity of a covert C.I.A. agent, Valerie Plame.

He ordered them held for 18 months or until the grand jury completes its inquiry, whichever comes sooner. He also ordered Time magazine to pay a fine of $1,000 a day for refusing to turn over related documents.