Smith v. Daily Mail Publishing Co.

Petitioner

Smith, Prosecuting Attorney and Circuit Judges of Kanawha County, West Virginia

Respondent

Daily Mail Publishing Co., et al.

Petitioner's Claim

That two newspapers violated West Virginia state law by publishing, without prior approval of juvenile court, the name of a juvenile charged with a crime.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner

Cletus B. Hanley

Chief Lawyer for Respondent

Floyd Abrams

Justices for the Court

Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Warren E. Burger (writing for the Court), Thurgood Marshall, William H. Rehnquist, John Paul Stevens, Potter Stewart, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting

None (Lewis F. Powell, Jr., did not participate)

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

26 June 1979

Decision

Affirmed West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals finding that a West Virginia law prohibiting publication of a lawfully obtained identification of a juvenile offender violated the First and Fourth Amendments.

Related Cases

• Oklahoma Publishing Co. v. District Court, 430 U.S. 308 (1977).
• Landmark Communications, Inc. v. Virginia, 345 U.S. 829 (1978).
• Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court for the County of Norfolk, 457 U.S. 596 (1982).
• Florida Star v. B. J. F., 491 U.S. 524 (1989).