Iowa Supreme Court justice blocks Register's use of court records
Seems unlikely to withstand scrutiny ...
An Iowa Supreme Court justice has issued a highly unusual order prohibiting the Des Moines Register from publishing information gleaned from court records.
...
The Dec. 11 order prohibits the Register, at least temporarily, from publishing information from court records that were sealed from public view after the Register obtained copies.
...
The Register’s attorney, Michael Giudicessi, has asked the Iowa Supreme Court to vacate the order, arguing in court filings that “the United States Supreme Court has never approved imposition of a prior restraint against the news media and the court has suggested it would consider doing so only in dire situations, such as matters of national security when the country is at war.”
Giudicessi wrote that the order is “an impermissible prior restraint of the press barred by the Iowa and federal constitutions. … The order unmistakably functions as an injunction directed to the Des Moines Register newspaper and its news reporter, Clark Kauffman, enjoining them from publishing the contents of court records.”
Kathleen Richardson of Drake University’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication said prior restraint is "the most disfavored form" of government-imposed regulation of speech.
...
The Dec. 11 order prohibits the Register, at least temporarily, from publishing information from court records that were sealed from public view after the Register obtained copies.
...
The Register’s attorney, Michael Giudicessi, has asked the Iowa Supreme Court to vacate the order, arguing in court filings that “the United States Supreme Court has never approved imposition of a prior restraint against the news media and the court has suggested it would consider doing so only in dire situations, such as matters of national security when the country is at war.”
Giudicessi wrote that the order is “an impermissible prior restraint of the press barred by the Iowa and federal constitutions. … The order unmistakably functions as an injunction directed to the Des Moines Register newspaper and its news reporter, Clark Kauffman, enjoining them from publishing the contents of court records.”
Kathleen Richardson of Drake University’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication said prior restraint is "the most disfavored form" of government-imposed regulation of speech.
Seems unlikely to withstand scrutiny ...
