United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

Capital Cities Media, Inc. v. Toole, 463 U.S. 1303 (1983)

Capital Cities Media, Inc. v. Toole

No. A-1070

Decided July 13, 1983

463 U.S. 1303

Syllabus

An application to stay respondent Pennsylvania trial court judge's order is granted insofar as it prohibits publication of the names or addresses of jurors who served in a homicide trial. The order, which was entered after the jurors had been selected in open voir dire proceedings at which their names were not kept confidential, is not restricted to the time during which the trial was conducted, but on its face permanently prohibits publishing the jurors' names or addresses. The jury ultimately returned a guilty verdict and was discharged. If the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which denied an application for summary relief, were to sustain the order on its merits, four Justices of this Court would probably vote to grant review, and there would be a substantial prospect of reversal. However, the application is denied insofar as it seeks a stay of the order's prohibition of the sketching, photographing, televising, or videotaping of any of the jurors "during their service in these proceedings." Since the jury has been discharged, this provision of the order can no longer have effect, and there is no prospect of immediate injury to applicants before they can seek appellate review of the order. The application is also denied without prejudice to its renewal insofar as it seeks a stay of another order of the trial judge restricting access to exhibits, since applicants have neither identified the exhibits to which they seek access nor indicated that they have sought an order from the trial judge permitting them access.