Va., a small community located about 13 miles outside of Charleston, W. On February 9, 1978, a 15-year-old student was shot and killed at Hayes Junior High School in St. Shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be fined not less than ten nor more than one hundred dollars, or confined in jail not less than five days nor more than six months, or both such fine and imprisonment.' 49-7-20. a provision of this chapter for which punishment has not been specifically provided, 'or shall the name of any child, in connection with any proceedings under this chapter, be published in any newspaper without a written order of the court.' W. The challenged West Virginia statute provides: We granted certiorari to consider whether a West Virginia statute violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution by making it a crime for a newspaper to publish, without the written approval of the juvenile court, the name of any youth charged as a juvenile offender. CHIEF JUSTICE BURGER delivered the opinion of the Court. Volner for the American Society of Newspaper Editors et al. Northam for the American Newspaper Publishers Association by Ennis for the American Civil Liberties Union by Arthur B. Briefs of amici curiae urging affirmance were filed by Bruce J. ] Paul Raymond Stone filed a brief for the Juvenile Defender Attorney Program et al. With him on the brief were Dean Ringel, F. Caplan, Special Assistant Attorney General.įloyd Abrams argued the cause for respondents. Hanley, Special Assistant Attorney General of West Virginia, argued the cause for petitioners. POWELL, J., took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.Ĭletus B.

REHNQUIST, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, post, p. J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BRENNAN, STEWART, WHITE, MARSHALL, BLACKMUN, and STEVENS, JJ., joined. Even assuming that the statute served a state interest of the highest order, the statute does not accomplish its stated purpose since it does not restrict the electronic media or any form of publication, except 'newspapers.' Pp. (b) Respondent's First Amendment rights prevail over the State's interest in protecting juveniles. When a state attempts to punish publication after the event it must demonstrate that its punitive action was necessary to further the state interest asserted. (a) Whether the statute is viewed as a prior restraint by authorizing the juvenile judge to permit publication or as a penal sanction for publishing lawfully obtained, truthful information is not dispositive because even the latter action requires the highest form of state interest to sustain its validity. The asserted state interest in protecting the anonymity of the juvenile offender to further his rehabilitation cannot justify the statute's imposition of criminal sanctions for publication of a juvenile's name lawfully obtained. The State cannot, consistent with the First and Fourteenth Amendments, punish the truthful publication of an alleged juvenile delinquent's name lawfully obtained by a newspaper. Va., holding that the statute on which the indictment was based violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals granted a writ of prohibition against petitioners, the prosecuting attorney and the Circuit Judges of Kanawha County, W. Respondents were indicted for violating a West Virginia statute which makes it a crime for a newspaper to publish, without the written approval of the juvenile court, the name of any youth charged as a juvenile offender. Respondents learned of the event and the name of the alleged assailant by monitoring the police band radio frequency and by asking various eyewitnesses. Respondent newspapers published articles containing the name of a juvenile who had been arrested for allegedly killing another youth.

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