Facts of the Case

Provided by Oyez

A reporter for the Florida Star wrote and printed an article about Betty Jean Freedman’s rape, including her full name. The reporter obtained all of his information, including the victim’s name, from the police report. The police department did not restrict access to the pressroom or police reports, but there were several signs in the area instructing not to print victim’s names. The newspaper also had a policy of not printing the full names of victims. After the article ran, Freedman and her family received several threatening phone calls, and Freedman sought mental counseling and police protection. Freedman sued, claiming emotional distress. The district court found Florida Star guilty of negligence under a Florida law that prohibits publishing the name of a victim of a sexual offense in any instrument of mass communication. The court awarded Freedman compensatory and punitive damages. The district court of appeal affirmed and the Supreme Court of Florida denied review.

Questions

  1. May a state impose criminal and civil sanctions on a newspaper for printing lawfully-obtained truthful information found in government records?

Conclusions

  1. No. In a 6-3 decision, Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the majority opinion reversing the lower court. The Supreme Court held that the civil damages imposed on Florida Star violated the First Amendment because the information was lawfully-obtained and truthful. The Court hinted that there may be a situation where a victim’s privacy interest outweighed a newspaper’s First Amendment rights. The Court also held that the Florida law prohibiting the printing of a victim’s name was under-inclusive because it did not limit the spread of a victim’s name through other means. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote a concurrence, stating that the Florida statute was invalid because it did not protect a state interest of the highest order.

    Justice Byron R. White wrote a dissent, expressing that the majority’s decision departs from past precedent. Justice White also rejected the majority’s assertion that the Florida law was under-inclusive. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor joined in the dissent.