California Court of Appeal
Steiner v. Superior Court, B235347
A petition for a writ of mandate challenging the trial court's order to plaintiffs' attorney to remove, for the duration of the trial, two pages from her website that discussed her success in two asbestos cases raising similar issues to the trial in this action, is denied, where: 1) this was an unlawful prior restraint on the attorney's free speech rights under the First Amendment because the order was more extensive than necessary to advance the competing public interest in assuring a fair trial; 2) juror admonitions and instructions, such as those given in this case, were the presumptively adequate means of addressing the threat of jury contamination in this case; but 3) although the order was improper, it is no longer in effect and thus no relief can be granted.
Appellate Information
- Decided 10/30/2013
- Published 10/30/2013
Judges
- PERREN
Court
- California Court of Appeal