U.S. Supreme Court Justices and Press Access

26 Pages Posted: 17 May 2015

See all articles by RonNell Andersen Jones

RonNell Andersen Jones

University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law

Date Written: December 1, 2012

Abstract

The Justices of the United States Supreme Court, in their role as articulators of legal doctrine in judicial opinions, have been largely press-positive and access-supportive. In contrast, these same Justices, in their role as establishers of their own institutional media policies and in their positions as individual representatives of a public institution, have been largely press-negative and access-wary. This disconnect may have ramifications for both public education and the flow of information in our constitutional democracy. This Article begins a conversation about possible rationales for the variance in the Court’s attitudes toward and treatment of the media. It suggests that although the Court’s concerns about institutional legitimacy and detachment from political pressures are admirable, they may not warrant as significant a gulf as currently exists between the Court’s case-law position on the press and its internal-policy position on the press.

Keywords: U.S. Supreme Court, Justices, press, media, newspapers, reporters

Suggested Citation

Andersen Jones, RonNell, U.S. Supreme Court Justices and Press Access (December 1, 2012). Brigham Young University Law Review, Vol. 2012, No. 6, 2012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2606819

RonNell Andersen Jones (Contact Author)

University of Utah - S.J. Quinney College of Law ( email )

383 S. University Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0730
United States
801-587-8756 (Phone)

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