Chandler v. Florida

Chandler v. Florida
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued November 12, 1980 Decided January 26, 1981
Full case name	Chandler v. Florida
Citations	449 U.S. 560 ( more ) 101 S. Ct. 802; 66 L. Ed. 2d 740
Holding
The Constitution does not prohibit a state from experimenting with a program such as is authorized by Florida's Canon 3A (7).
Court membership
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Associate Justices William J. Brennan Jr.  · Potter Stewart Byron White  · Thurgood Marshall Harry Blackmun  · Lewis F. Powell Jr. William Rehnquist  · John P. Stevens
Case opinions
Majority	Burger, joined by Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Rehnquist
Concurrence	Stewart
Concurrence	White
Stevens took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.

Chandler v. Florida, 449 U.S. 560 (1981), was a legal case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a state could allow the broadcast and still photography coverage of criminal trials. While refraining from formally overruling Estes v. Texas , which in 1965 held that media coverage was "infringing the fundamental right to a fair trial guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment," it effectively did so.

Background

After the media was allowed to televise a portion of their case, two Miami Beach police officers filed suit objecting to the coverage case. The two police officers were charged with burglarizing a Miami Beach restaurant. ^[1]

Question Before the Court

Does media coverage of a criminal's trial violate the accused right to a fair trial protected by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments? ^[1]

Decision of the Court

In an 8-0 decision in favor of the State of Florida, Chief Justice Burger wrote the opinion for the Supreme Court. Citing Estes v. Texas (1964), the Court denied Chandler's claim that a media presence in the courtroom is offensive to due process. So long as the "evolving technology" does not infringe on "fundamental guarantees" of the accused, the media does not violate a person's constitutional right to due process. Further, the Court noted that the previous statute upheld by the Florida State Supreme Court implemented strict guidelines "intended to protect the right of a defendant to a fair trial" in regards to the medias coverage of a criminal trial. ^[2]

See also

• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 449

References

1. "Chandler v. Florida - 449 U.S. 560 (1981)". Oyez: Chicago-Kent College of Law. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
2. Chandler v. Florida, 449 U.S. 560 (1981).

Further reading

• Ares, Charles E. (1981). "Chandler v. Florida: Television, Criminal Trials, and Due Process". The Supreme Court Review. 1981. The Supreme Court Review, Vol. 1981: 157–192. doi:10.1086/scr.1981.3109543. JSTOR   3109543. S2CID   147116832.
• Jennings, James M. II (1982). "Is Chandler a Final Rewrite of Estes?". Journalism Quarterly. 59 (1): 66–73. doi:10.1177/107769908205900110. S2CID   144312413.
• Nesson, Charles R.; Koblenz, Andrew D. (1981). "The Image of Justice: Chandler v. Florida". Harvard Civil Rights—Civil Liberties Law Review. 16 (2): 405–413.

External links

• Text of Chandler v. Florida, 449 U.S. 560(1981) is available from: Google Scholar Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio)