Lawson v. Dixon
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
25 F.3d 1040, 22 Media L. Rep. 1839 (1994)
- Written by Laura Julien, JD
Facts
David Lawson (plaintiff) was on death row in North Carolina. Two days after receiving notice of his execution date, he informed Gary Dixon (defendant), the prison warden, of names of the individuals that he wanted to attend his execution. Two of the individuals that Lawson named were well-known media figures (the media figures) (plaintiffs). In addition to requesting certain individuals be allowed to attend his execution, Lawson also requested permission for the media figures to videotape his execution in order to create a documentary about his life. Dixon denied Lawson’s request, asserting that he needed to preserve the orderly operation and security of the prison. Lawson and the media figures then filed state court proceedings against Dixon, resulting in a finding by the state supreme court that Lawson and the media figures did not have a constitutional right to videotape the proceedings. The case was then dismissed on its merits. Following the state supreme court’s dismissal, Lawson and the media figures filed the same action in federal court.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Ervin, C.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 824,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,400 briefs, keyed to 989 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
