Home > Great American Court Cases > Zurcher v. The Stanford Daily

Legal Citation: 436 U.S. 547 (1978)

Petitioner
James Zurcher, Chief of Police of Palo Alto

Respondent
The Stanford Daily

Petitioner's Claim
The Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments did not prohibit third party search warrants, even if the third party is not suspected of a crime, and the First Amendment does not protect newspapers from such searches.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner
Robert K. Booth

Chief Lawyer for Respondent
Jerome B. Falk, Jr.

Justices for the Court
Harry A. Blackmun, Warren E. Burger, Lewis F. Powell, Jr., William H. Rehnquist, Byron R. White (writing for the Court)

Justices Dissenting
Thurgood Marshall, John Paul Stevens, Potter Stewart, (William J. Brennan, Jr., did not participate)

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
31 May 1978