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Keywords

lawsuitattorneyinjunctionappealtrial
injunctionappeal

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Tory v. Cochran, 544 U.S. 734, 125 S.Ct. 2108, 161 L.Ed.2d 1042, 73 USLW 4404, 33 Media L. Rep. 1737, 05 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 4556, 2005 Daily Journal D.A.R. 6227, 18 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 322

Facts

Attorney Johnnie Cochran filed a defamation lawsuit against Ulysses Tory, who, along with Ruth Craft and others, falsely claimed that Cochran owed him money. Tory engaged in a series of defamatory actions, including picketing Cochran's office with insulting signs and making threats to coerce Cochran into paying him. The trial court found Tory's claims baseless and issued a permanent injunction prohibiting him and his associates from making further defamatory statements or engaging in similar activities.

The court concluded that Tory's claim that Cochran owed him money was without foundation, that Tory engaged in a continuous pattern of libelous and slanderous activity, and that Tory had used false and defamatory speech to 'coerce' Cochran into paying 'amounts of money to which Tory was not entitled' as a 'tribute' or a 'premium' for 'desisting' from this libelous and slanderous activity.

Issue

Whether a permanent injunction as a remedy in a defamation action, preventing all future speech about an admitted public figure, violates the First Amendment.

Whether a permanent injunction as a remedy in a defamation action, preventing all future speech about an admitted public figure, violates the First Amendment.

Rule

The court held that prior restraints on speech are the most serious and least tolerable infringement on First Amendment rights, and any injunction must be narrowly tailored to achieve a specific objective.

Consequently the injunction amounts to an overly broad prior restraint upon speech, lacking plausible justification.

Analysis

The Supreme Court found that the injunction against Tory was overly broad and lacked justification, particularly after Cochran's death. The court noted that the original rationale for the injunction—to coerce Cochran into paying Tory—was no longer valid, as the threat of coercion was eliminated with Cochran's passing. Thus, the injunction significantly restrained Tory's speech without a plausible justification.

Since picketing Cochran and his law offices while engaging in injunction-forbidden speech could no longer coerce Cochran to pay for desisting in this activity, the grounds for the injunction are much diminished or have disappeared altogether.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court vacated the judgment of the California Court of Appeal and remanded the case, indicating that the injunction was an unconstitutional prior restraint on speech.

We vacate the judgment of the California Court of Appeal, and we remand the case for proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.

Who won?

The prevailing party was Ulysses Tory, as the Supreme Court ruled in his favor by vacating the injunction against him.

The Supreme Court ultimately vacated the injunction, ruling it was an overly broad prior restraint on speech, especially after Cochran's death, which diminished the justification for the injunction.

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