Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn, 420 U.S. 469 (1975) was a United States Supreme Court

Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...

 case involving freedom of the press

Freedom of the press

Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...

. The case determined that a Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 law prohibiting the release of a rape victim's name was unconstitutional. The case was argued on November 11, 1974 and decided on March 3, 1975.

Facts of the case

In 1971, Cynthia Leslie Cohn, a 17 year-old Potter Stewart High School student, was sexually assaulted and murdered in Sandy Springs, Georgia

Sandy Springs, Georgia

Sandy Springs is a city in north Georgia, United States. It is a northern suburb of Atlanta. With a 2010 population of 93,853, Sandy Springs is the sixth-largest city in the state and the second-largest city in Metro Atlanta. Sandy Springs is located in north Fulton County, Georgia, just south of...

. Due to the graphic nature of the crime, the media immediately jumped on the story and began following the proceedings. Thomas Wassell, a reporter for WSB-TV

WSB-TV

WSB-TV, virtual channel 2.1 , is the ABC affiliate in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship television station of Cox Enterprises and its Cox Media Group subsidiary...

, approached the clerk in open court during the court proceedings in 1972 and asked for a copy of the indictment documents, which contained the name of the victim. He obtained the name and broadcast it later that night. Martin Cohn, the father of Leslie, brought a suit against WSB for breaking a law in Georgia that prohibits the broadcasting or printing of the name of a rape

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

 victim. Cohn pushed for criminal proceedings and sued for damages for invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress.

Legal issue

Did the Georgia law violate the freedom of the press as protected by the First

First Amendment to the United States Constitution

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...

 and Fourteenth

Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...

 Amendments?

Decision of the Court

Although the trial court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, the Appellate and Supreme Courts ruled in favor of the defendant, stating that the law prohibited the freedom of the press in airing a name they obtained legally.

Reasoning of the Court

The U.S. Supreme Court held that the law violated the Constitution. They held that the right to privacy, although important, does not take precedence over freedom of speech if the media outlet broadcasts or prints information that it legally obtains through no means of deceit or foul play. Also, when something is of public record, the actual privacy of the matter fades in significance because it has already been made a part of public record and is therefore already on the books, though many media outlets still try and minimize the use of the names of victims of crimes, such as rape, in their broadcasts and newscasts.

Disposition

Affirmed- The U.S. Supreme Court voted 8-1 in favor of Cox Broadcasting

Cox Enterprises

Cox Enterprises is the successor to the publishing company founded in Dayton, Ohio, United States, by James Middleton Cox, who began with the Dayton Daily News. He was the Democratic candidate for the President of the United States in the election of 1920...

, affirming the decision of the Appellate Court, and reversing the decision of the Trial Court.

See also

• Florida Star v. B. J. F.
  Florida Star v. B. J. F.
  Florida Star v. B. J. F., 491 U.S. 521 was a United States Supreme Court case involving freedom of the press. After a newspaper erroneously reported the full name of a rape victim it got from a police report, the victim sued for damages. State law made it illegal for a publication to print a...
  
  , 491 U.S. 524 (1989)
• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 420