Richmond Newspapers Inc. v. Virginia (1979)
- Docket
- 79-243
- Decided
- 1979-01-01
Summary
Question: Did the closure of the trial to the press and public violate the First Amendment or the Sixth Amendment? Conclusion: In a 7-to-1 decision, the Court held that the right to attend criminal trials was "implicit in the guarantees of the First Amendment." The Court held that the First Amendment encompassed not only the right to speak but also the freedom to listen and to receive information and ideas. The Court also noted that the First Amendment guaranteed the right of assembly in public places such as courthouses. The Court emphasized that "certain unarticulated rights" were implicit in enumerated guarantees and were often "indispensable to the enjoyment of rights explicitly defined."