Supreme court of the united states

[***713] A

The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees that "[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed...." The right to a jury trial, applicable to the States through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, see, e.g., Duncan v. Louisiana, 391 U.S. 145 (1968), is essentially [*586] the right to a "fair trial by a panel of impartial, 'indifferent' jurors," Irvin v. Dowd, 366 U.S. 717, 722 (1961), jurors who are "'indifferent as [they] stand unsworn.'" Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145, 154 (1879), quoting E. Coke, A Commentary upon Littleton 155 b (19th ed. 1832). See also, e.g., Ristaino v. Ross, 424 U.S. 589, 597 n. 9 (1976); Rideau v. Louisiana, 373 U.S. 723 (1963); Irvin v. Dowd, supra, at 722; In re Murchison, 349 U.S. 133, 136 (1955); In re Oliver, 333 U.S. 257 (1948). So basic to our jurisprudence is the right to a fair trial that it has been called "the most fundamental of all freedoms." Estes v. Texas, 381 U.S. 532, 540 (1965). It is a right essential to the preservation and enjoyment of all other rights, providing a necessary means of safeguarding personal liberties against government oppression. See, e.g., Rideau v. Louisiana, supra, at 726-727. See generally Duncan v. Louisiana, supra, at 149-158.

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution, however, secures rights equally fundamental in our jurisprudence, and its ringing proclamation that "Congress [**2816] shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press..." has been both applied through the Fourteenth Amendment to invalidate restraints on freedom of the press imposed by the States, see, e.g., Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo, 418 U.S. 241 (1974); New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964); Near v. Minnesota ex rel. Olson, 283 U.S. 697 (1931), and interpreted to interdict such restraints imposed by the courts, see, e.g., New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971); Craig v. Harney, 331 U.S. 367 (1947); Bridges v. California, 314 U.S. 252 (1941). Indeed, it has been correctly perceived that a "responsible press has always been regarded as the handmaiden of effective judicial administration, especially in the criminal field.... The [*587] press does not simply publish information about trials but guards against the miscarriage of justice by subjecting the police, prosecutors, and judicial processes to extensive public scrutiny and criticism." Sheppard v. [***714] Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333, 350 (1966). See also, e.g., Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn, 420 U.S. 469, 491-496 (1975). Commentary and reporting on the criminal justice system is at the core of First Amendment values, for the operation and integrity of that system is of crucial import to citizens concerned with the administration of government. Secrecy of judicial action can only breed ignorance and distrust of courts and suspicion concerning the competence and impartiality of judges; free and robust reporting, criticism, and debate can contribute to public understanding of the rule of law and to comprehension of the functioning of the entire criminal justice system, as well as improve the quality of that system by subjecting it to the cleansing effects of exposure and public accountability. See, e.g., In re Oliver, supra, at 270-271; L. Brandeis, Other People's Money 62 (1933) ("Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman").

No one can seriously doubt, however, that uninhibited prejudicial pre-trial publicity may destroy the fairness of a criminal trial, see, e.g., Sheppard v. Maxwell, supra, and the past decade has witnessed substantial debate, colloquially known as the Free Press/Fair Trial controversy, concerning this interface of First and Sixth Amendment rights. In effect, we are now told by respondents that the two rights can no longer coexist when the press possesses and seeks to publish "confessions or admissions against interest" and other information "strongly implicative" ¹⁴ of a criminal defendant as the [*588] perpetrator of a crime, and that one or the other right must therefore be subordinated. I disagree. Settled case law concerning the impropriety and constitutional invalidity of prior restraints on the press compels the conclusion that there can be no prohibition on the publication by the press of any information pertaining to pending judicial proceedings or the operation of the criminal justice system, no matter how shabby the means by which the [**2817] information is obtained. ¹⁵ This does not imply, however, any subordination of Sixth Amendment rights, for an accused's right to a fair trial may be adequately assured through methods that do not infringe First Amendment values.

14 The precise scope of these terms is not, of course, self-evident. Almost any statement may be an "admission against interest" if, for example, it can be shown to be false and thus destructive of the accused's credibility. This would even be true with respect to exculpatory statements made by an accused, such as those relating to alleged alibi defenses. Similarly, there is considerable vagueness in the phrase "strongly implicative" of the accused's guilt. The Nebraska Supreme Court did not elaborate on its meaning, and counsel for the State suggests it only covers the existence of the accused's prior criminal record, if any. Tr. of Oral Arg. 54. Others might view the phrase considerably more expansively. See supra, at 581; cf. 194 Neb., at 789-790, 236 N.W. 2d, at 799. Indeed, even the fact the accused was indicted might be viewed as "strongly implicative" of his guilt by reporters not schooled in the law, and the threat of contempt for transgression of such directives would thus tend to self-censorship even as to materials not intended to be covered by the restrictive order.

15 Of course, even if the press cannot be enjoined from reporting certain information, that does not necessarily immunize it from civil liability for libel or invasion of privacy or from criminal liability for transgressions of general criminal laws during the course of obtaining that information.

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