From yesterday's Blackman v. Substack, Inc., by California Court of Appeal Justices Tracie Brown and Danny Chou and Marin County Judge Andrew Sweet:
"'[I]f a newspaper lawfully obtains truthful information about a matter of public significance then state officials may not constitutionally punish publication of the information, absent a need to further a state interest of the highest order.'" (The Florida Star v. B.J.F. (1989).) …
Penal Code sections 851.91 and 851.92 provide for the sealing of arrest records in certain situations when the arrest did not result in a conviction, and the latter statute prohibits dissemination of sealed documents. Plaintiff Maury Blackman's 2021 arrest was sealed pursuant to these statutes, but the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) publicly released the investigative police report for the arrest to a third party without restriction, and an anonymous source subsequently sent that report to defendant Jack Poulson. Poulson wrote about Blackman's arrest online, and Blackman sued Poulson and the entities that provided online platforms for Poulson's postings.
The Court of Appeal held that Poulson's posts were constitutionally protected:
