Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia
United States Supreme Court
448 U.S. 555 (1980)
Facts
In 1976, a series of mistrials occurred in a murder case involving Stevenson in Virginia state court. Wheeler and McCarthy, reporters for Richmond Newspapers (plaintiff), were present in the courtroom during Stevenson’s fourth trial. Defense counsel brought a motion to exclude the public from the trial. The prosecution did not object, and the trial judge closed the proceedings to the press and public. Wheeler and McCarthy, as members of the press, objected to the closure on the grounds that it violated the First Amendment’s protection of the freedom of the press and moved to intervene as parties in the case. The Virginia Supreme Court denied their motion, and the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Burger, C.J.)
Concurrence (Blackmun, J.)
Concurrence (Stewart, J.)
Concurrence (Brennan, J.)
Dissent (Rehnquist, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 710,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 44,600 briefs, keyed to 983 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.
