Maryland v. Baltimore Radio Show, Inc.

338 U.S. 912 (1950)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Two little girls had been murdered under horrible and tragic circumstances. One was dragged from her bicycle on one of the public thoroughfares of Baltimore City while in the company, or at least, in the vicinity of two of her playmates, and there stabbed to death. There was massive public interest and massive fear. D announced on one of its shows that James had been apprehended and that he had been charged with the Brill murder and that James had confessed to this dastardly crime, that he has a long criminal record, that he went out to the scene with the officers and there reenacted the crime, and further, dug up from somewhere down in the leaves the knife that he had used to murder the little girl. D was charged with contempt for having a clear and present effect upon the administration of justice. The trial court was convinced that D tainted the jury pool and made it almost impossible for James to get a fair trial. D was found guilty of contempt, but the Court of Appeals overturned that decision. The Appellate court held that the power to punish for contempt is limited by the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Federal Constitution and that the facts in the case at bar cannot support the judgments. P petitioned for certiorari. The Court declined to review the decision of the Maryland Court of Appeals.