First Amendment Gotcha

A state appellate court overturned an order against a SoCal newspaper, stating that the paper can publish stories about a case in which it is a defendant. This is one of those strange cases where a paper can use it’s strong voice in the community (from which jurors will be selected) to argue on its own behalf. The government (here, the court) is rightly restricted from restraining the voice of the paper–even though it means those on the other side of the case might have a more difficult time arguing in the court of public opinion. The strength of one’s right to speak often results in the restriction of another’s.

Also worth a look is the Supreme Court’s Tuesday hearing on the constitutionality of searches resulting from erroneous database information.