Simon & Schuster, Inc. v. Fischetti

JON 0. NEWMAN, Circuit Judge,

dissenting:

There are times when well-intentioned legislators, acting for the best of reasons, enact a statute that violates the Constitution. When that occurs, courts are challenged to resist the passions of the moment that swayed the legislators and to apply the paramount restrictions of the Constitution. This case presents such a challenge.

The New York legislature, responding to the public outrage over the 1977 “Son of Sam” murders and to the prospect that the killer, when apprehended, might write a book about his crimes, enacted a statute intended to prevent…