Source
Butterworth v. Smith, 494 U.S. 624 (1990)
Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, 1990-03-21
- Kind
- court record
- Last checked
- 2026-09-26
- Archived copy
- none yet
Cited by
- United States Supreme Court strikes down Florida law barring a reporter from discussing his own grand jury testimony
- Claim 753: At the time Michael Smith testified before the grand jury, he was warned by the special prosecutor's staff not to reveal his testimony in any manner, or face criminal prosecution under Florida Statute 905.27.
- Claim 755: The Supreme Court's opinion said one interest served by grand jury secrecy is that making preindictment proceedings public would make prospective witnesses hesitant to come forward voluntarily, knowing the people they testified against would learn of their testimony.
- Claim 756: The Court said the ban's impact on Smith's ability to make a truthful public statement was dramatic, since he had been free before testifying to speak about matters of public concern but believed he could no longer communicate that information.
- Claim 757: The Supreme Court held that Florida's law violated the First Amendment insofar as it barred a grand jury witness from disclosing his own testimony after the grand jury's term had ended.
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