Case Categories: Press Access

• Chandler v. Florida (1981)

  Chandler v. Florida (1981) dealt with the First Amendment issue of press access and ruled that states can allow broadcast coverage of criminal trials...

• El Vocero de Puerto Rico v. Puerto Rico (1993)

  El Vocero de Puerto Rico v. Puerto Rico (1993) said closed preliminary trial hearings in Puerto Rico violated the First Amendment, as in the United States...

• Estes v. Texas (1965)

  Estes v. Texas (1965) overturned a conviction based on the presence of cameras in the courtroom and explored relations between the First Amendment and the right...

• Gannett Co. v. DePasquale (1979)

  In Gannett Co. v. DePasquale, the Supreme Court ruled that trials closed to the press and public were a violation of neither the First nor Sixth Amendment...

• Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court (1982)

  Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court established that the First Amendment guarantees the “presumptive” right of the public to attend criminal trials...

• Houchins v. KQED (1978)

  In Houchins v. KQED (1978), the Supreme Court said that First Amendment freedom of the press did not give the press an unlimited right to gather information...

• Pell v. Procunier (1974)

  In Pell v. Procunier (1974), the Court upheld a ban on face-to-face media interviews with inmates, rejecting arguments that it interfered with First Amendment...

• Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court of California (1984, 1986)

  The Supreme Court ruled in 1984 and 1986 that the public has a presumptive right of access to pretrial criminal proceedings under the First Amendment...

• Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia (1980)

  In Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia (1980), the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment generally prohibits closing criminal trial proceedings to the...

• Saxbe v. Washington Post Co. (1974)

  In Saxbe v. Washington Post Co. (1974), the Supreme Court established that the press has no general First Amendment right to interview specific prison inmates...

• Seattle Times Co. v. Rhinehart (1984)

  Seattle Times v. Rhinehart (1984) said that an order prohibiting a newspaper from publishing material it received during a lawsuit discovery did not violate the...

• Sheppard v. Maxwell (1966)

  Sheppard v. Maxwell (1966), which involved a murder trial, epitomized how a circus-like “media” trial can pit First Amendment freedom against the right to a...

• Sherrill v. Knight (D.C. Cir.) (1977)

  In Sherrill v. Knight (1977), a circuit court said the First Amendment limited the right of the White House to arbitrarily deny a press pass to a journalist...

• Wilson v. Layne (1999)

  In Wilson v. Layne (1999), the Supreme Court balanced First and Fourth Amendment rights and found that allowing media into homes on police ride-alongs was...