THE FLORIDA STAR v. B. J. F.

Legal Principle at Issue

Whether the First Amendment permits a state to impose civil damages on a newspaper for publishing the name of a sexual assault victim that was lawfully obtained from a police report made available to the public, even though state law prohibits publishing such information?

Action

Reversed. Petitioning party received a favorable disposition.

Facts/Syllabus

Appellant, The Florida Star, is a newspaper which publishes a "Police Reports" section containing brief articles describing local criminal incidents under police investigation. On October 20, 1983, appellee B.J.F. reported to the Duval County, Florida, Sheriff's Department (the Department) that she had been robbed and sexually assaulted by an unknown assailant, and the Department prepared a report on the incident which identified B.J.F. by her full name. The Department then placed the report in its pressroom. The Department does not restrict access either to the pressroom or to the reports made available therein. A Star reporter-trainee sent to the pressroom copied the police report verbatim, including B.J.F.'s full name. Consequently, her name was included in a "Police Reports" story in the paper, in violation of the Star's internal policy. 

Florida Statute §794.03 makes it unlawful to "print, publish, or broadcast . . . in any instrument of mass communication" the name of the victim of a sexual offense. B.J.F. filed suit in the Circuit Court of Duval County alleging that the Star had negligently violated §794.03. The circuit court denied the Star's motion to dismiss, which claimed, among other things, that imposing civil sanctions on the newspaper pursuant to §794.03 violated the First Amendment. However, the circuit court granted B.J.F.'s motion for a directed verdict on the issue of negligence, finding the Star negligent based on its violation of §794.03. The jury then awarded B.J.F. both compensatory and punitive damages. The verdict was upheld by the Florida First District Court of Appeal.