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Prior Restraints: Information in the public sphere

To the extent information is revealed in open court, it cannot be censored. For example, if jurors are identified in open jury selection proceedings, the court cannot restrain the press from publishing the identity of jurors because such information is part of the public record.¹³

In Arkansas Democrat-Gazette v. Zimmerman, the Arkansas Supreme Court held that an order prohibiting publication or distribution of the names or pictures of a juvenile defendant, the victim, and their families was an overbroad prior restraint of the press in violation of the First Amendment. Two critical factors influenced the court's decision. First, the juvenile proceedings were open to the public and the media. Second, the identity of the parties was already in the public domain prior to the judge's order. As a result, these factors outweighed the state's interest in confidentiality of the parties. While the judge could prohibit photographs in areas adjacent to the courtroom, she could not prohibit photographs outside the courthouse, including public streets and sidewalks.¹⁴

Notes

13. State v. Neulander, 801 A.2d 255 (N.J. 2002), cert. denied Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. v. New Jersey, 123 S.Ct. 1281 (2003).

14. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette v. Zimmerman, 20 S.W.3d 301 (Ark. 2000).

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