PressEthic

What should I do? The lawyer representing a group of people who filed a lawsuit against a big corporation told me I could not talk to any of his clients, for fear their published comments would give the corporation an unwarranted line of attack in the courtroom. Basically, though I can't imagine how this would happen, he was afraid that one of his clients would say something that unwittingly belied his carefully orchestrated deposition. The lawyer also suggested that his clients had been through enough turbulance for the time being, without having to spill their guts to another journalist.

Based on the support other people involved in the situation who were not connected to the actual lawsuit gave this pronouncement, I decided to respect it and have not even tried to contact any of the people involved in the lawsuit since he told me I couldn't. This means, though, that I'm missing a pretty vital part of the story I'm writing, which is basically built around the plaintiffs' experiences, none of which I have recorded, at this point, from first-hand descriptions.

So here's the kicker: This morning I pull up these people's community newspaper's Web site and there, plain as day, is a story containing quotes from the main spokesperson for the people filing the suit. She's in the suit; she's the person everyone else says has suffered the most, and there she is, quoted alongside the lawyer about the latest developments.

Now I'm in a situation wherein I might lose the trust of people I've already interviewed by breeching my agreement not to talk to the people in the suit. If I try calling them, I'll piss others off. But don't I know have almost the obligation, as someone trying to be a thorough journalist, to call them? Is it slimy or necessary to call the woman quoted in her community paper and say "hey, I was told you wouldn't be speaking to the press at all, but you just did, so won't you please give me an interview too?"

I know it sounds whiny, of course I wouldn't be as off-putting as I must sound here, but I would do my best to convince the people in the suit that they could not be harmed by talking to me. But I cannot decide whether to break my agreement or whether they are still off limits.

Should I go for it?