Las Vegas Review-Journal v. Eighth Judicial District Court

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The district court’s preliminary injunction order enjoining media outlets from reporting on a redacted, anonymized autopsy report that they and other members of the media obtained through a Nevada Public Records Act request did not comport with the First Amendment.A district judge ruled that the autopsy reports of the victims of the October 1, 2017 shooting at the Route 91 Harvest music festival constituted public records subject to inspection and release but directed the Clark County Coroner to redact the victims’ names and personal identifying information. After the Coroner publicly released the redacted autopsy reports, the wife and the estate of one of the victims (collectively, the Hartfield parties) filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. The district judge granted the motion for a preliminary injunction and barred the Las Vegas Review Journal and the Associated Press from sharing the redacted autopsy report of the victim. The Supreme Court granted writ relief to the Review Journal, holding that the Hartfield parties failed to demonstrate a serious and imminent threat to a protected competing interest that would warrant the prior restraint imposed in this case. View "Las Vegas Review-Journal v. Eighth Judicial District Court" on Justia Law