Supreme Court declines First Amendment and abortion cases News
Supreme Court declines First Amendment and abortion cases

[JURIST] The Supreme Court today declined to hear Troy Publishing v. Norton (docket 04-979), letting stand a ruling that appears to limit Constitutional protection of the press. Without comment, the Court denied the appeal of a 2004 ruling [PDF] by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court holding that neither the state nor the Federal Constitution protected the so-called "neutral reportage privilege," a First Amendment-based doctrine that allowed journalists to safely report defamatory comments uttered by public figures so long as the comments were described in a neutral fashion. The Pennsylvania court ruled in favor of two Parkesburg, PA., officials who sued over a 1995 article in the West Chester Daily Local News. As a result, journalists publishing in Pennsylvania will need to scrutinize public statements more closely for truth or face potential liability. AP has more.

Other cases declined today include Wasden v. Planned Parenthood of Idaho (04-703), a state appeal challenging a Ninth Circuit decision nullifying Idaho's parental consent law for minors seeking abortions; Arkansas v. Jolly (04-806), in which the state sought clarification of the constitutional doctrine to be applied to an excessive delay between a guilty verdict and the imposition of sentence; and Virginia Department of State Police v. Washington Post, et al. (04-999), testing the scope of the right of news organizations and the public to access to sealed court documents. SCOTUSblog has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Justice Department brings anit-trust action against AT&T

On November 20, 1974, the Department of Justice filed its final anti-trust suit against AT&T. United States v. AT&T was ultimately settled out of court with an agreement that the corporation would break up its monopoly on phone service throughout the country.

Nuremberg war crimes trials began

On November 20, 1945, the war crimes trials of Nazi World War II leaders began in the German city of Nuremberg. Review the Nuremberg Tribunal's Charter and the verdicts and sentences handed down on major war figures.

Winston Churchill born

On November 20, 1874, Sir Winston Churchill was born in Woodstock, England. He would go on to lead the United Kingdom as Prime Minister through World War II. Toward the end of the war, Churchill worked with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to craft the treaties and accords that have defined the world since WWII. A 2002 poll by the BBC declared Churchill the Greatest Briton of all time.

New Jersey ratifies Bill of Rights

New Jersey ratified the Bill of Rights, a set of 10 fundamental amendments to the US Constitution, on November 20, 1789, becoming the first state to do so. The state also ratified an amendment on federal representation which ultimately failed. Additionally, New Jersey rejected an amendment on congressional salaries, which would eventually become the 27th Amendment more than 200 years later. Read the articles ratified by New Jersey.