Time, Inc. v. Hill
| Time, Inc. v. Hill | |
|---|---|
| Argued April 27, 1966 Decided January 9, 1967 | |
| Full case name | Time, Inc. v. James J. Hill |
| Citations | 385 U.S. 374 (more) 87 S. Ct. 534; 17 L. Ed. 2d 456; 1967 U.S. LEXIS 2991 |
| Argument | Oral argument |
| Reargument | Reargument |
| Opinion announcement | Opinion announcement |
| Case history | |
| Prior | New York Court of Appeals: 15 N.Y.2d 986, 207 N.E.2d 604, 260 N.Y.S. 7. New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division: 204 N.Y.S. 286. |
| Subsequent | None |
| Holding | |
| "Erroneous statements about a matter of public interest ... are inevitable, and, if innocent or merely negligent, must be protected if 'freedoms of expression are to have the breathing space' that they 'need to survive.'" | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Brennan, joined by Black, Douglas, Stewart, White |
| Concurrence | Black, joined by Douglas |
| Concurrence | Douglas |
| Concur/dissent | Harlan |
| Dissent | Fortas, joined by Warren, Clark |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. I | |
Time, Inc. v. Hill, 385 U.S. 374 (1967), is a United States Supreme Court case involving issues of privacy in balance with the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and principles of freedom of speech. The Court held 6–3 that the latter requires that merely negligent intrusions into the former by the media not be civilly actionable. It expanded that principle from its landmark defamation holding in New York Times v. Sullivan.
The Hill family had sued after Life implied in a blurb that the upcoming film adaptation of The Desperate Hours was based on the real-life incident where they were held hostage in their home by escaped convicts. It was accompanied by a photo of the Hills' house in a suburb of Philadelphia, from which they had moved shortly afterwards due to the lingering psychological effects of the episode. In fact, the plot of the novel and a successful play based on it were, while inspired by the Hills' experience, unrelated to it.
Former Vice President Richard M. Nixon argued the Hills' case before the Court.