Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/12/21
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 07:41 PM 12/21/2001 -0500, B. D. Colen wrote: >The only Constitutionally based "freedom of the press" in the U. S. is the >freedom to publish that which you find out - or photograph - without prior >restraint. While there are 'shield laws,' and 'sunshine laws' guaranteeing >that certain meetings, etc., are open to the public, there is NO >Constitutionally guaranteed right to find out things which people don't >want one to find out. This is not quite correct. Prior restraints are not per se unconstitutional - just very strictly scrutinized by the courts (I think we've been through this before). Although relatively rare, there have been prior restraints which have survived constitutional scrutiny. Also, there are some constitutionally guaranteed rights of access to information that trump the desire of the participants or holders of the information to keep it withheld (the right of the press to gain access to a criminal trial in most circumstances, for instance), but this is an area of constitutional law with many uncertainties. Bryan - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html