Sherrill v. Knight

United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, decided December 15, 1977

Published 2026-09-22. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 2 sources.

Caption: Sherrill v. Knight
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
Court level: appeals court
Citation: 569 F.2d 124 (D.C. Cir. 1977)
Decided: 1977-12-15
Status: decided

What the court held

The protection afforded newsgathering under the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of the press requires that this access not be denied arbitrarily or for less than compelling reasons; due process requires notice of the factual basis for denial, an opportunity to respond, and a final written statement of reasons.¹²³⁴

Controlling precedent; cited in litigation over the 2026 White House ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico.¹²³⁴

Incidents

Documents and reporting

Sherrill v. Knight (D.C. Cir.)The Free Speech Center, MTSU, reporting. Source record
Sherrill v. Knight, 569 F.2d 124 (D.C. Cir. 1977) archived copyJustia, 1977-01-01, opinion. Source record

Claims cited

The D.C. Circuit decided Sherrill v. Knight on December 15, 1977. Decided Dec. 15, 1977 Sherrill v. Knight, 569 F.2d 124 (D.C. Cir. 1977) archived copy, Justia, 1977-01-01. Claim 13, checked 2026-09-22.
The court held that denying a previously issued White House press pass requires notice of the factual basis, an opportunity to respond, and a final written statement of reasons. notice of the factual bases for denial, an opportunity for the applicant to respond to these, and a final written statement of the reasons for denial Sherrill v. Knight, 569 F.2d 124 (D.C. Cir. 1977) archived copy, Justia, 1977-01-01. Claim 14, checked 2026-09-22.
The court held that denial of a White House press pass implicates First Amendment interests and cannot occur without adequate procedural due process. denial of a pass potentially infringes upon first amendment guarantees. Such impairment of this interest cannot be permitted to occur in the absence of adequate procedural due process. Sherrill v. Knight, 569 F.2d 124 (D.C. Cir. 1977) archived copy, Justia, 1977-01-01. Claim 15, checked 2026-09-22.
The case is reported as Sherrill v. Knight, 569 F.2d 124 (D.C. Cir. 1977). Robert Sherrill v. H. Stuart Knight, Director, United States Secret Service, Etal., Appellants, 569 F.2d 124 (D.C. Cir. 1977) Sherrill v. Knight, 569 F.2d 124 (D.C. Cir. 1977) archived copy, Justia, 1977-01-01. Claim 16, checked 2026-09-22.