Bartnicki v. Vopper

Infobox SCOTUS case
Litigants=Bartnicki v. Vopper
ArgueDate=December 5
ArgueYear=2000
DecideDate=May 21
DecideYear=2001
FullName=Bartnicki et al. v. Vopper, aka Williams, et al.
USVol=532
USPage=514
Citation=
Prior=Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Subsequent=200 F. 3d 109, affirmed.
Holding=A broadcaster cannot be held civilly liable for publishing documents or tapes illegally procured by a third-party.
SCOTUS=1994-2005
Majority=Stevens
JoinMajority=O'Connor, Kennedy, Souter, Ginsburg, Breyer
Concurrence=Breyer
JoinConcurrence=O'Connor
Dissent=Rehnquist
JoinDissent=Scalia, Thomas
LawsApplied=

"Bartnicki v. Vopper", 532 U.S. 514 (2001), is a United States Supreme Court case relieving a media defendant of liability for broadcasting a taped conversation of a labor official talking to other union people about a teachers' strike. The parties stipulated that the taped conversation had been illegally obtained by an intercept in violation of ECPA, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act but the Court held the radio station not liable because the radio station itself did nothing illegal to obtain the tape. The case stands for the rule that media defendants are not liable even if a third party violated the law.

Justice Rehnquist, in his dissent, was concerned with the chilling effect that this decision would have on speech.

ee also

* List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 532

External links

* [http://www.enfacto.com/case/U.S./532/514/ Bartnicki v. Vopper, 532 U.S. 514 (2001)] (opinion full text).