The Press Flashcards
Branzburg v. Hayes (1972)
Press, No constitutional or common law privilege for reporters. Reporters not immune to subpoena to testify. Overriding public interest in law enforcement.
Zurcher v. Stanford Daily (1978)
Press, Search Warrant (Ex Parte Not Subpoena), No special immunity from law enforcement.
Landmark Communications, Inc. v. Virginia (1978)
Press, State criminalized publication of information before judicial inquiry. Struck down because judicial inquiry commission is a matter of public interest and injury to reputation is insufficient to outweigh.
Miami Herald v. Tornillo (1974)
Press, Compelled Speech, Struck down state law gave candidates right to equal space to reply to attacks.
Cohen v. Cowles Media Co. (1991)
Press, Reporter violated confidentiality/nondisclosure promise. No special immunity from generally applicable laws (tort of promissory estoppel).
Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia (1980)
Access, 6th Amendment, Criminal Trials must be open to the public. Judge can impose reasonable limitations for fair administration of justice.
Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. Federal Communications Commn. (1969)
New Media, Upheld FCC Fairness Doctrine requiring broadcaster to give reply time for personal attacks. Distinct from Tornillo because airwaves are limited (newpapers are not).
Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation (1978)
New Media, Broadcasting medium receives the least protection because it intrudes in the home. FCC can sanction indecent even if not obscene.
Denver Area Educational Telecommunications Consortium, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission (1996)
New Media, Upheld Pacifica ruling in cable context. Law authorized cable operators to enforce policy prohibiting sexually explicit but nonobscene programming.
Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1997)
New Media, Government cannot regulate internet content unless it passes strict scrutiny. Internet medium does not intrude involuntarily.
Packingham v. North Carolina (2017)
New Media, Right to Access Internet Websites, Law prohibited registered sex offender from accessing social media that has children members. Assuming law was content-neutral, still failed intermediate scrutiny.
Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia v. Trump (2019)
New Media, Social media account used for official purposes becomes designated public forum. “Blocking” certain people is unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination.
