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Smith v. Daily Mail Publishing Co.

Case Date: 03/20/1979
Docket No: none

Facts of the Case 

A West Virginia statute made it a crime for a newspaper to publish, without approval of juvenile court, the name of any youth charged as a juvenile offender.

Question 

Did the law violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments?

Argument Smith v. Daily Mail Publishing Co. - Oral ArgumentFull Transcript Text  Download MP3 Conclusion  Decision: 8 votes for Daily Mail Publishing Co., 0 vote(s) against Legal provision: Amendment 1: Speech, Press, and Assembly

Yes. Chief Justice Burger reasoned that governmental attempts to restrict the publication of truthful information "seldom can satisfy constitutional standards." As long as the information is lawfully obtained, as it was in this case involving a shooting at a junior high school, the state cannot restrict a newspaper from publishing a juvenile offender's name unless the restriction serves a substantial state interest. No such interest was present in this case.