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Keywords

appealtrialverdictmotion

lawyerappealtrialmotionhabeas corpusobjection

Related Cases

Craig v. Harney, 331 U.S. 367, 67 S.Ct. 1249, 91 L.Ed. 1546, 1 Media L. Rep. 1310

Facts

The petitioners, who were involved in journalism, were sentenced to jail for three days for contempt after publishing articles and editorials criticizing a judge's handling of a forcible detainer case. The judge had instructed a jury to return a verdict without allowing them to hear arguments from both sides, which led to public outcry and the petitioners' publications. The judge claimed that the publications were intended to influence his decision regarding a motion for a new trial, which was pending at the time.

The trial judge concluded that the reports and editorials were designed falsely to represent to the public the nature of the proceedings and to prejudice and influence the court in its ruling on the motion for a new trial then pending.

Issue

Whether the publications by the petitioners constituted a clear and present danger to the administration of justice, justifying a contempt ruling.

The Court of Criminal Appeals, in denying the writ of habeas corpus, stated that the ‘issue before us' is ‘whether the publications * * * were reasonably calculated to interfere with the due administration of justice’ in the pending case.

Rule

The court applied the 'clear and present danger' test to determine if the publications posed an imminent threat to the judicial process.

We reaffirmed and reapplied that standard in Pennekamp v. State of Florida, supra, which also involved comment on matters pending before the court.

Analysis

The Supreme Court analyzed the context of the publications, noting that while they criticized the judge's actions, they did not constitute a serious threat to the administration of justice. The court emphasized that the freedom of the press must be protected, and the criticisms, although strong, did not meet the threshold of creating an imminent danger to the judicial process.

The editorial's complaint was twofold. One objection or criticism was that a layman rather than a lawyer sat on the bench. That is legitimate comment; and its relevancy could hardly be denied at least where judges are elected.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, ruling that the contempt finding was unconstitutional as it infringed upon the First Amendment rights of free speech and press.

Reversed.

Who won?

The petitioners, Conway C. Craig, Bob McCracken, and Tom Mulvany, prevailed because the Supreme Court found that their publications did not pose a clear and present danger to the administration of justice.

The only reason or motive for so doing was because the publishers did not agree with Judge Browning's decision or conduct of the case.

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