United States v. Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc.

DYER, Circuit Judge:

The inherent tension between two fundamental constitutional guarantees — the freedom of the press and the right to a fair trial — is manifest in this appeal by the Columbia Broadcasting System from a series of district court orders which restricted the making and publishing of sketches. The lower court forbade not only in-court sketching, but also proscribed the publication of sketches of courtroom scenes, regardless of where the sketches were made. Because the orders are unconstitutionally overbroad, they must be vacated.

This controversy began during the pre-trial stage…