Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia case
brief summary
448 U.S. 555 (1980)
CASE SYNOPSIS
Appellant newspaper reporters sought
review from the Supreme Court of Virginia of a closure order and
denials of writs of mandamus and prohibition excluding the press and
the public from a murder trial. Appellants contended that the right
of the public and press to attend criminal trials was guaranteed
under the United States Constitution.DISCUSSION
- The court reversed a closure order excluding the press and the public from a murder trial. Defendant had moved that the trial be closed in order to prevent leaks to the media which could then be seen by jurors.
- Appellant newspaper reporters' motion to vacate the closure order was denied and their writs of mandamus and prohibition were dismissed.
- Although the trial had long since ended, the underlying dispute was not moot because it was capable of repetition, yet evading review.
- As to the merits, the right of the press and the public to attend criminal trials was implicit in the guarantees of the U.S. Constitutional Amendment I.
- The trial court made no findings to support closure.
- Various tested alternatives existed to satisfy the constitutional demands of fairness in a trial, but none were considered to deal with potential problems with the witnesses and the jury.
- Absent an overriding interest articulated in findings, the trial of a criminal case had to be open to the public.
The court reversed a closure order excluding the press and the public from a murder trial because the right of the press and the public to attend criminal trials was implicit in the guarantees of the United States Constitution.
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