Houston free-lance writer Vanessa Leggett, the darling of free-speech watchdogs nationwide, was released from the Federal Detention Center on Jan. 4 after spending 168 days behind bars. She had refused to hand over to a federal grand jury four years of taped interviews and research about the 1997 River Oaks murder of socialite Doris Angleton. The victim’s husband, Robert Angleton, and his brother, Roger, who committed suicide in jail before trial, were charged in the case. Leggett had interviewed many of the principal players, including Roger. Although Robert was acquitted of murder charges in state court, a federal grand jury was convened to investigate.
Leggett was set free only because the term of the grand jury that subpoenaed her materials had expired. However, her attorney, Mike DeGeurin of Houston’s Foreman, DeGeurin, Nugent & Gerger, notes that Leggett’s legal tribulation may not be over.
