# 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 D.C. Circuit held that the protection the First Amendment gives to newsgathering requires that White House press access not be denied arbitrarily or for less than compelling reasons, and that due process requires "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."[1][2][3][4]

Status as of 2026-09-22: Final.[1][2][3][4]

## Incidents

- [United States: White House suspension of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta's hard pass, November 2018 (precedent cited)](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2018-white-house-revokes-acosta-press-pass)
- [United States: White House hard-pass deactivations for CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters, September 2026 (precedent cited)](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2026-white-house-bans-cnn-msnow-politico)

## Documents and reporting

1. Sherrill v. Knight (D.C. Cir.). https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/sherrill-v-knight-d-c-cir/ (The Free Speech Center, MTSU).
2. Sherrill v. Knight, 569 F.2d 124 (D.C. Cir. 1977). https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/569/124/35083/ Archived copy: https://web.archive.org/web/20260920061644/https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/569/124/35083/ (Justia, 1977-01-01).

## Claims cited

[1] The D.C. Circuit decided Sherrill v. Knight on December 15, 1977. Quote: "Decided Dec. 15, 1977" Source: Justia, 1977-01-01. Sherrill v. Knight, 569 F.2d 124 (D.C. Cir. 1977). https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/569/124/35083/ Archived copy: https://web.archive.org/web/20260920061644/https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/569/124/35083/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/13, checked 2026-09-22.

[2] 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. Quote: "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" Source: Justia, 1977-01-01. Sherrill v. Knight, 569 F.2d 124 (D.C. Cir. 1977). https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/569/124/35083/ Archived copy: https://web.archive.org/web/20260920061644/https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/569/124/35083/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/14, checked 2026-09-22.

[3] The court held that denial of a White House press pass implicates First Amendment interests and cannot occur without adequate procedural due process. Quote: "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." Source: Justia, 1977-01-01. Sherrill v. Knight, 569 F.2d 124 (D.C. Cir. 1977). https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/569/124/35083/ Archived copy: https://web.archive.org/web/20260920061644/https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/569/124/35083/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/15, checked 2026-09-22.

[4] The case is reported as Sherrill v. Knight, 569 F.2d 124 (D.C. Cir. 1977). Quote: "Robert Sherrill v. H. Stuart Knight, Director, United States Secret Service, Etal., Appellants, 569 F.2d 124 (D.C. Cir. 1977)" Source: Justia, 1977-01-01. Sherrill v. Knight, 569 F.2d 124 (D.C. Cir. 1977). https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/569/124/35083/ Archived copy: https://web.archive.org/web/20260920061644/https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/569/124/35083/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/16, checked 2026-09-22.

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/cases/sherrill-v-knight-1977. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.