Mobilizing the Press: Defending the First Amendment in the Supreme Court

Mobilizing the Press examines the role of the press in constitutional litigation before the United States Supreme Court to shape the First Amendment doctrine that forms the legal environment in which journalists operate. The book shows that the Court has consistently ruled in favor of the press's interpretation of the First Amendment on publishing issues such as prior restraints, libel, and privacy, but has not been persuaded that the First Amendment protects newsgathering, as in reporters' privilege, cameras in courtrooms, and ride-along cases. The book focuses on three important case studies and surveys the evolution of constitutional press law before and between the case studies. It demonstrates how the institutional press has played a significant, if not always decisive, role in that evolution. Eric B. Easton is Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where he has taught Communications Law, Legal Writing, and other subjects for 20 years. Before joining the UB faculty, he taught Media Law, Reporting, and Editing at Loyola University-Maryland. He has also taught Comparative Media Law at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, and Copyright and Constitutional Law at Shandong University, China, and Comparative Cyberlaw at the University of Curaçao. He has been a visiting scholar at the Journalism Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing. Before joining the academy, Professor Easton was a professional journalist for more than 20 years. He currently serves as editor of the scholarly Journal of Media Law & Ethics and as a member of the editorial advisory board of The Daily Record, Maryland's business and legal newspaper. Professor Easton holds a B.S. from the Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, a J.D. from the Francis King Carey School of Law, University of Maryland-Baltimore, and a Ph.D. from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland-College Park. He has authored more than 15 law review articles and delivered a similar number of academic presentations in this country and overseas. He was also the general editor of the second edition of the American Bar Association's Sourcebook on Legal Writing Programs.