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Smith v. Daily Mail Publishing Co. | 443 U.S. 97 (1979)
The First Amendment prohibits government infringement on the freedom of press. Broadly speaking, freedom of the press means that the press is entitled to the same freedom of speech as individuals. Consequently, as we see in Smith versus Daily Mail Publishing Company, statutes restricting what the press may publish often come under scrutiny.
A West Virginia statute prohibited newspapers from publishing the names of juveniles involved in criminal proceedings without first obtaining a court order. Violation of the statute was a misdemeanor.
When a school shooting occurred outside Charleston, West Virginia, two newspapers, the Charleston Daily Mail and the Charleston Gazette, dispatched reporters. By speaking to witnesses, police, and a state prosecutor at the scene, the reporters learned the name of the fourteen-year-old student allegedly responsible. In its first article, the Daily Mail didn’t publish the student’s name, complying with the state statute. But the Gazette subsequently published an article sharing the name. Multiple radio stations also reported the name. Consequently, when the Daily Mail published a second article, it reasoned that the name was public knowledge and included it. Both the Gazette and the Daily Mail were subsequently indicted for publishing the name without obtaining a court order.
Believing the state statute was an unconstitutional restriction on the freedom of press, the newspapers filed a petition in the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. They sought an order prohibiting the prosecuting attorney and county judges from acting on the indictment.
The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals found the statute unconstitutional and issued a writ of prohibition. The United States Supreme Court then granted cert.
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