Branzburg v. Hayes 1972
| Author | Daniel Brannen, Richard Hanes, Elizabeth Shaw |
| Pages | 46-50 |
Page 46
Petitioner: Paul M. Branzburg.
Respondents: Judge John P. Hayes, et al.
Petitioner's Claim: That the First Amendment gives news reporters a privilege protecting the confidentiality of their sources of information.
Chief Lawyer for Petitioner: Edgar A. Zingman
Chief Lawyer for Respondents: Edwin A. Schroering, Jr.
Justices for the Court: Harry A. Blackmun, Warren E. Burger, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., William H. Rehnquist, Byron R. White
Justices Dissenting: William J. Brennan, Jr., William O. Douglas, Thurgood Marshall, Potter Stewart
Date of Decision: June 29, 1972
Decision: The First Amendment does not give news reporters a privilege to keep their sources secret from the government.
Significance: News reporters must share information about criminal activity with grand jury investigations just like every other citizen.
Paul Branzburg was a reporter for a Kentucky newspaper called the Louisville Courier-Journal. In 1969 the newspaper printed an article by Branzburg describing two people making hashish from marijuana; both are illegal drugs. In the article Branzburg said he promised the two people
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he would not reveal their identities.
Associate Justice Byron R. White.
In 1971 the newspaper printed another article by Branzburg on use of illegal drugs. He wrote the second article after spending two weeks watching and interviewing dozens of drug users in Frankfort, Kentucky. Again Branzburg promised not to reveal the identities of the drug users.
On both occasions Branzburg was called to testify before a Kentucky grand jury. (A grand jury is a group of people who review evidence presented by the state to determine if it has enough evidence to charge someone with a crime.) Branzburg refused to reveal the identities of the people he had interviewed. He said the First Amend-ment gave him a privilege, or right, to keep his sources confidential, meaning secret. Branzburg said that without the privilege, sources would not talk to him for fear they would be drawn into a grand jury investigation. If sources stopped talking to him, he would not be able to report the news. Branzburg said that would violate the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of the press.
In both instances a state judge disagreed with Branzburg and ordered him to answer the...
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