1st Amendment and Free Speech/newspapers

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Expert: Michael Troy - 5/10/2009


Question
Hello Troy, thank you for taking the time to answer questions here.  My question...I recently read an article in the NY Daily and in it the reporter revealed personal information about Carrie Prejean's family from a court case.  Far from the issue at hand...it it legal to reveal another's private info from court files in a public capacity like that...I find it dishonorable regardless of the case or people involved..

Answer
Hello,

Generally speaking the First Amendment protects the right of newspapers to publish information about people.  There are some actions that may be deemed to be an invasion of privacy, but these typically must be highly intrusive to be actionable.  I cannot give specific legal advice in this forum, but this link gives some more general info on the invasion of privacy tort:

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/privacy/Privacy_R2d_Torts_Sections.htm

I hope this helps!
- Mike  

1st Amendment and Free Speech

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Michael Troy

Expertise

I will answer general questions regarding freedom of speech, petition, or religion. I specialize in cases involving public employment or education, as well as issues related to campaign finance. But I can`t give specific legal advice involving specific cases you might have.

Experience

As an attorney for the Center for Individual Rights, I worked on a number of free speech cases, including Rosenberger v. Univ. of Virginia, in which the Supreme Court upheld my clients' right to run a student newspaper without discrimination because of its religious conent. I also worked on White v. Julian, which protected the right of people to protest against a homeless shelter in their neighborhood.

I also worked for the Federal Election Commission on several cases regarding the right to participate in the election process.

Organizations
Former Attorney for Center for Individual Rights.

Publications
Washington Post
Washington Times

Education/Credentials
J.D. from Univ. of Michigan Law School

Awards and Honors
Truman Scholar

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