Nebraska Press Assoc. v. Stuart

Media Items

Oral Argument

Opinion Announcement

Advocates

Harold Mosher (Argued the cause for the respondent Stuart)

E. Barrett Prettyman, Jr (Argued the cause for the petitioners)

Milton R. Larson (Argued the cause for the State of Nebraska)

Floyd Abrams (Argued the cause for the National Broadcasting Co. et al. as amici curiae urging reversal)

Case Basics

Docket No.:

75-817

Petitioner:

Nebraska Press Assoc.

Respondent:

Stuart

Decided By:

Burger Court (1975-1981)

Opinion:

427 U.S. 539 (1976)

Argued:

Monday, April 19, 1976

Decided:

Wednesday, June 30, 1976

Issues:

First Amendment, Miscellaneous

Categories:

justiciability, freedom of the press, criminal

Cite this page

The Oyez Project, Nebraska Press Assoc. v. Stuart , 427 U.S. 539 (1976)
available at: (http://oyez.org/cases/1970-1979/1975/1975_75_817)

Facts of the Case:

A Nebraska state trial judge, presiding over a widely publicized murder trial, entered an order restraining members of the press from publishing or broadcasting accounts of confessions made by the accused to the police. The judge felt that this measure was necessary to guarantee a fair trial to the accused.

Question:

Did the judge's order violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments?

Conclusion:

Yes. The Court agreed with the trial judge that the murder case would generate "intense and pervasive pretrial publicity." However, the unanimous court held that the practical problems associated with implementing a prior restraint on the press in this case would not have served the accused's rights. Chief Justice Burger reasoned that"a whole community cannot be restrained from discussing a subject intimately affecting life within it."

Decisions

Decision: 9 votes for Nebraska Press Assoc., 0 vote(s) against
Legal provision: Amendment 1: Speech, Press, and Assembly

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