Arkansas Gazette Co. v. Lofton
| Decision Date | 27 May 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 80-2,80-2 |
| Citation | 269 Ark. 109,598 S.W.2d 745 |
| Parties | , 6 Media L. Rep. 1535 ARKANSAS GAZETTE CO., Petitioner, v. Floyd J. LOFTON, Judge, Respondent. |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
Rose Law Firm, P. A., Little Rock, for petitioner.
Steve Clark, Atty. Gen., by Debby Thetford Nye, Asst. Atty. Gen., Little Rock, for respondent.
Otha Lee Conley was charged with four counts of rape which were committed in the Quapaw Quarter area of Little Rock during the summer of 1978. Following two trials, which included other incidental charges, he was convicted and sentenced to a total of 143 years. During a preliminary hearing about a week before the third trial, the trial court enjoined and restrained the petitioner from (1) publishing any information regarding the substance of the preliminary hearing until after the jury was impaneled, and (2) referring to the accused as the "Quapaw Quarter rapist" in any news stories published prior to the trial. We dissolved this order, issued a writ of certiorari and directed the parties to submit briefs pursuant to Rule 16. Even though we dissolved the order, we address the one issue presented since it is capable of repetition in future cases. Commercial Printing Co. and Tosca v. Lee, 262 Ark. 87, 553 S.W.2d 270 (1977).
The petitioner does not object to the first aspect of the order. With commendable restraint, petitioner declined publishing the substance of the evidence proffered at the preliminary suppression hearing, and in fact never had any intention to do so. Petitioner points out, however, that it was clearly free to do so if it chose since it was an open court proceeding. Shiras v. Britt, 267 Ark. 97, 589 S.W.2d 18 (1979); and Wood v. Goodson, Judge, 253 Ark. 196, 485 S.W.2d 213 (1972). Therefore, the only issue presented here is whether the order restraining the press from referring to the accused as the "Quapaw Quarter rapist" was unconstitutional and void.
Any restraint on the freedom of the press, even though narrow in scope and duration, is subject to the closest scrutiny and will be upheld only upon a clear showing that an exercise of this right presents a clear and imminent threat to the fair administration of justice. U. S. v. CBS, Inc., 497 F.2d 102 (5th Cir. 1974). Any prior restraint bears a heavy presumption against its constitutional validity, and the government carries a heavy burden of demonstrating justification for its imposition. CBS, Inc., v. Young, 522 F.2d 234 (6th Cir. 1975).
Here there is no doubt that the court entered the order in good faith, believing...
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