Brian W. v. Superior Court

Opinion

MOSK, J.

We confront in a new context the frequently recurring

conflict between the media and the judiciary, the two “institutions pedestaled in fragile loneliness by the Constitution” (Simons & Califano, The Media and the Law (1976) p. 1). Most controversies in this arena arise as a result of abrasive court orders to the press seeking revelation of confidential sources, preventing the gathering of information, or imposing gag orders. Here, by contrast, we have a petition inspired by a litigant seeking press exclusion despite a court order permitting press access to judicial proceedings.

B…