ABSTRACT
In Globe Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court, the US Supreme Court struck down a Massachusetts law that denied the public and press access to a courtroom during the testimony of an underage victim of a sexual offense. The case raised issues of the right to a free press as provided in the First Amendment to the US Constitution. In accordance with the General Laws of Massachusetts, the Superior Court of Norfolk County closed its proceedings to public observers when teenage girls took the stand to testify against the man accused of raping them. The Globe Newspaper Company challenged the action, claiming the law infringed on the rights of a free press as protected by the First Amendment. Although the state may have an interest in protecting minors from further trauma stemming from the crime, this interest did not outweigh the First Amendment.
