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Tory v. Cochran, 544 U.S. 734 (2005), is a United States Supreme Court case involving libel.
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| Tory v. Cochran | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued March 22, 2005 Decided May 31, 2005 | |
| Full case name | Ulysses Tory, et al., Petitioners v. Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. |
| Citations | 544 U.S. 734 (more) 125 S. Ct. 2108; 161 L. Ed. 2d 1042; 2005 U.S. LEXIS 4347; 73 U.S.L.W. 4404; 33 Media L. Rep. 1737; 18 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 322 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | On writ of certiorari to the Court of Appeal of California, Second Appellate District |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Breyer, joined by Rehnquist, Stevens, O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg |
| Dissent | Thomas, joined by Scalia |
The case began in California with Johnnie Cochran, the famed attorney who represented O. J. Simpson, suing his former client Ulysses Tory for libel and invasion of privacy. Cochran had withdrawn as Tory's lawyer in a civil rights suit nearly twenty years earlier, and in the late 1990s Tory began picketing Cochran's office, carrying signs that accused him of being a thief and of accepting bribes. A trial judge ruled that Tory had made false and defamatory statements about Cochran, and instead of awarding him damages, issued an injunction ordering Tory to never again display a sign or speak about Cochran.
Tory appealed, arguing that the order was a prior restraint that violated his First Amendment right to free speech. In an unpublished opinion, the California Court of Appeals ruled that the order was constitutional. The California Supreme Court declined to review the case, and on April 24, 2004, Tory filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court. The petition was granted, briefing followed, and the oral argument took place on March 22, 2005. Cochran died seven days later and the court asked for further briefing.
On May 31, 2005, the court ruled 7–2 that in light of Cochran's death, the injunction limiting the demonstrations of Ulysses Tory "amounts to an overly broad prior restraint upon speech". Two justices, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, said that Cochran's death made it unnecessary for the court to rule.
- Text of Tory v. Cochran, 544 U.S. 734 (2005) is available from: CourtListener Findlaw Google Scholar Justia OpenJurist Oyez (oral argument audio) Supreme Court (slip opinion) (archived)
- Tory v. Cochran Supreme Court docket
- "Petitioners' brief in pdf" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 3, 2005.
- "Brief amici curaie in pdf" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 31, 2006.
- Supreme Court Oral Argument transcript
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