The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, from the first press laws to today

Claim

Claim 809

The Supreme Court ruled 5 to 3, in an opinion by Justice Byron White, that searches of the property of innocent third parties, including the press, are permissible when police have probable cause.

Published 2026-09-26. Last reviewed 2026-09-26. 1 source.

Statement
The Supreme Court ruled 5 to 3, in an opinion by Justice Byron White, that searches of the property of innocent third parties, including the press, are permissible when police have probable cause.
Field
status
Value
Supreme Court upholds newsroom searches, 5-3
About
incident 1971-us-zurcher-stanford-daily-newsroom-search
Source
Zurcher v. Stanford Daily (1978)
Publisher
The First Amendment Encyclopedia, Middle Tennessee State University
Method
outlet report
Checked
2026-09-26
Confidence
medium
Status
current
Source date
2009

Quotation from the source

The Supreme Court, in a 5-3 opinion authored by Justice Byron R.White , held that searches of the property of innocent third parties, including the press, are permissible