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Houchins v. KQED Inc.

Case Date: 11/29/1977
Docket No: none

Facts of the Case 

KQED Inc., owner of a number of licensed television and radio broadcasting stations, requested permission to inspect and take pictures of the Alameda County Jail at Santa Rita. KQED sought to investigate a recent suicide that had occurred at the facility. Houchins, the Sheriff of Alameda County, denied access to the media.

Question 

Did the First Amendment guarantee news media a right of access to jails over and above that of other persons?

Argument Houchins v. KQED Inc. - Oral ArgumentFull Transcript Text  Download MP3Houchins v. KQED Inc. - Opinion Announcement  Download MP3 Conclusion  Decision: 4 votes for Houchins, 3 vote(s) against Legal provision: Amendment 1: Speech, Press, and Assembly

No. In an opinion written by Chief Justice Burger, the Court held that the First Amendment granted no special right of access to the press to government- controlled sources of information. The Court reasoned that the importance of acceptable prison conditions and the media's role of providing information afforded "no basis for reading into the Constitution a right of the public or the media to enter these institutions. . .and take moving and still pictures of inmates for broadcast purposes."