Orange County

Yeah, the Register can cover its news

Of course Orange County judge David C. Velasquez was going to lose on his order barring the Register from reporting on a lawsuit against the paper by its news carriers. A three-judge panel of the state appeals court sent Velasquez a unanimous reminder yesterday that the First Amendment pretty much means what it says.

Prior restraint is "the most serious and the least tolerable infringement on First Amendment rights," said the 4th District Court of Appeal.

Citing U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the appeals panel said gag orders are only justified to prevent dissemination of information about troop movements during wartime or to suppress information that "would set in motion a nuclear holocaust."

The judges noted that Velasquez could have started by, you know, telling witnesses not to read the Register coverage. More than two dozen news organizations joined the Register as friends of the court in appealing the original order.


More by Kevin Roderick:
Standing up to Harvey Weinstein
The Media
LA Times gets a top editor with nothing but questions
LA Observed Notes: Harvey Weinstein stripped bare
LA Observed Notes: Photos of the homeless, photos that found homes
Recent Orange County stories on LA Observed:
Telenovelas and Trumpery
Continuing education at the county fair


 

LA Observed on Twitter