Gannett Co. v. DePasquale

Petitioner

Gannett Co., Inc.

Respondent

Daniel A. DePasquale, Seneca County Court Judge

Petitioner's Claim

That exclusion of the press from a pretrial hearing was tantamount to denying a public right of access to trials and violated the First, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner

Robert C. Bernius

Chief Lawyer for Respondent

Bernard Kobroff

Justices for the Court

Warren E. Burger, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., William H. Rehnquist, Potter Stewart (writing for the Court), John Paul Stevens

Justices Dissenting

Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, Byron R. White

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

2 July 1979

Decision

Closure of pretrial hearings to journalistic media was held acceptable.

Related Cases

• Estes v. Texas, 381 U.S. 532 (1965).
• Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333 (1966).
• Nebraska Press Assn. v. Stuart, 427 U.S. 539 (1976).
• United States v. Cianfrani, 573 F.2d 835 (1978).
• Richmond Newspapers Inc. v. Virginia, 448 U.S. 555 (1980).
• Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court, 464 U.S. 501 (1984).

Sources

Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the Supreme Court, Vol. 1. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1997.

Further Readings

• Lassiter, Christo. "TV or Not TV--That is the Question." Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, spring 1996, p. 928.
• LIDB Online (Louisiana Indigent Defender Board Online Information Center) "Controlling Prejudicial Publicity." JLAMANUAL, 1997. http://www.lidb.com/manuals/jlamanua.htm