Re: juvenile's names

[Douglas Broda <dougbroda@mindspring.com>]

That's releasing by the police rather than publishing/broadcasting by the
media, though.

A law prohibiting police from releasing juveniles' names in certain
situations is constitutional, and several states have such laws.

If a news organization gets the name somehow, though (be it by any source,
including a police officer with a loose tongue), any law barring publication
or broadcast of the name would, as Dan Billings said, be quite
unconstitutional in the U.S.... it's only broadcaster or other news outlet
policy that stops such dissemination.

Ed Brouder wrote:

> On Fri, 1 May 1998 23:34:19 -0400 EricNH@webtv.net (Eric Jacobs) writes:
> >....Is it permissible to broadcast/print the name of a juvenile?
>
> That depends entirely on the definition of "juvenile" in a given state.
> Here in NH, that age is 16.  If a suspect younger than that is certified
> for trial as an adult, the name is then permissible for publication in
> the news media.  The name of a car accident victim, for example, can be
> released even if the person is underage because their death becomes a
> matter of public record.  Some police jurisdictions refuse to release
> such information but our attorney general has indicated that particular
> interpretation of juvenile confidentiality laws is incorrect.

 --
Douglas J. Broda
Broda and Burnett
Attorneys at Law
80 Ferry Street
Troy, New York 12180
(518) 272-0580
Fax: (518) 272-0381
dougbroda@mindspring.com

------------------------------