United States v. Providence Journal Co. et al. (485 U.S. 693)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided May 2, 1988 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 485 U.S. 693 · 108 S. Ct. 1502
- Decided
- May 2, 1988
- Term
- October Term 1987
- Vote
- 6–2
- Majority author
- Justice Blackmun
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Disposition
- Petition denied or appeal dismissed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Blackmun delivered the opinion of the Court. The United States seeks reinstatement of a judgment of contempt against a newspaper and its executive editor for violating an invalid temporary restraining order against publication. Having concluded that the court-appointed prosecutor who sought certiorari and briefed and argued the case without the authorization of the Solicitor General may not represent the United States before this Court, we dismiss the writ of certiorari. I On November 8, 1985, Raymond J. Patriarca, son of Raymond L. S. Patriarca, by then deceased, filed suit against the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), its Director, the Department of Justice, the Attorney General of the United States, the Providence Journal Company (Journal), and WJAR Television Ten (WJAR), seeking to enjoin further dissemination of logs and memoranda compiled from 1962 to 1965 during the course of illegal electronic surveillance, see Providence Journal Co. v. FBI, 602 F. 2d 1010, 1013 (CA1 1979), cert. denied, 444 U. S. 1071 (1980), of the plaintiff’s father. The complaint, as amended, was based on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U. S. C. § 552 (1982 ed., and Supp. IV), Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Title III), 18 U. S. C. § 2510 et seq. (1982 ed., and Supp. IV), and the Fourth Amendment, and alleged that the FBI had improperly…
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