Village Voice, Inc., Et Al v. Rinaldi

423 U.S. 883

• Court: Supreme Court of the United States
• Decided: October 14, 1975
• Docket: 75-224
• Status: Published

Opinion

App. Div., Sup. Ct. N. Y., 1st Jud. Dept. Certiorari denied for want of a final judgment. Mr. Justice Douglas is of the view, stated in his previous opinions1 and those of Mr. Justice Black,2 that any state or federal libel law imposing liability for discussion of public affairs abridges freedom of speech and of the press contrary to the First and Fourteenth Amendments. He is also of the view, stated in his opinion in Mills v. Alabama, 384 U. S. 214, 221-222 (1966), 3 that the judgment below is final because further proceedings are precluded in the state court and the present posture of that judgment upon remand will deter others from exercising their constitutional right to discuss public affairs. Mr. Justice Douglas would therefore grant certiorari and summarily reverse the judgment.

3 Cf. Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn, 420 U. S. 469, 484-487 (1975); Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo, 418 U. S. 241, 246-247 and n. 6 (1974).