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United States Supreme Court case
Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Pat Tornillo
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued April 17, 1974 Decided June 25, 1974
Full case name
Miami Herald Publishing Company, Division of Knight Newspapers, Incorporated v. Tornillo
94 S. Ct. 2831; 41 L. Ed. 2d 730; 1974 U.S. LEXIS 86; 1 Media L. Rep. 1898
Case history
Prior
Appeal from the Supreme Court of Florida
Holding
A Florida law requiring newspapers to allow equal access to political candidates in the case of a political editorial or endorsement content is unconstitutional.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Warren E. Burger
Associate Justices
William O. Douglas·William J. Brennan Jr. Potter Stewart·Byron White Thurgood Marshall·Harry Blackmun Lewis F. Powell Jr.·William Rehnquist
Case opinions
Majority
Burger, joined by unanimous
Concurrence
Brennan, joined by Rehnquist
Concurrence
White
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. I
Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo, 418 U.S. 241 (1974), was a United States Supreme Court case that overturned a Florida state law requiring newspapers to allow equal space in their newspapers to political candidates in the case of a political editorial or endorsement content. The court held that while the statute does not "prevent [newspapers] from saying anything [they] wish", it "exacts a penalty on the basis of the content." Because newspapers are economically finite enterprises, "editors may conclude that the safe course is to avoid controversy", thereby chilling speech. Furthermore, the Court held the exercise of editorial judgment is a protected First Amendment activity. In effect, this ruling reaffirmed the constitutional principle of freedom of the press (detailed in the First Amendment) and prevented state governments from controlling the content of the press.
Miami attorney Dan Paul, long-time attorney for the Miami Herald, was its chief lawyer in the case.[1]
