Time Essay: The Press, the Courts and the Country

Are courts going too far in what is beginning to look like a campaign to curb the press?

Most journalists would not yet agree with Allen Neuharth, head of the Gannett newspaper chain, that in this respect, the Supreme Court has moved "above the law." But the trend is clear and alarming, from the denial of confidentiality of sources to surprise newsroom searches (see LAW). Not only the press is affected. The search decision can send the cops into psychiatrists' or lawyers' offices as well. The latest court ruling that pretrial hearings and possibly...