Judge Orders Newspaper Not To Report On Lawsuit Brought By The Newspaper

from the freedom-of-the-press...-except... dept

Romenesko points us to the news that a judge overseeing a lawsuit between the OC Register (the newspaper) and newspaper delivery workers has barred the newspaper from reporting on any testimony in the case. Of course, the newspaper reported on that ruling, and it also dug up a bunch of constitutional scholars, who pointed out the unconstitutionality of such a ban.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: first amendment, freedom of the press, reporting
Companies: oc register


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Aint No Lawyer, 26 Sep 2008 @ 5:11pm

    How is this different when any other judge puts a blackout on press during the trail of a case. I thought it was illegal to report on the proceedings while they're in session, to keep the jury as impartial as possible; but, I could most certianly have no clue what im talking about.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Lawrence D'Oliveiro, 27 Sep 2008 @ 3:12am

    Conflict of Interest

    Journalists are supposed to disclose if they have any interest in a matter on which they're reporting. For an interest as big as this, which could actually be prejudicial to the outcome of a court case, such a restriction seems reasonable, really. Other newspapers and media should be able to report on the case, just not the one directly involved.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Ben, 29 Sep 2008 @ 4:58am

    I think the problem here isn't a news blackout, but the judge singling a single newspaper out? If it was a gag on all then would make more sense, assuming there was something sensitive going on, like a minor or such.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Joe, 29 Sep 2008 @ 11:13am

    news blackout

    Judges aren't allowed to ban any kind of news coverage whatsoever; it's constitutionally protected.

    Judges can order a "news blackout" on the members of the jury, but that's it. They can also order nobody to talk to jurors, and do other things to control the proceedings... ban cameras in court etc. or even close the courtroom under certain circumstances.

    But they're not supposed to be able to ban any kind of reporting.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.