Talley v. California

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Talley v. California" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

1960 United States Supreme Court case

Talley v. California

Supreme Court of the United States

Argued January 13–14, 1960
Decided March 7, 1960
Full case name| Talley v. California
Citations| 362 U.S. 60 (more)

80 S. Ct. 536; 4 L. Ed. 2d 559; 1960 U.S. LEXIS 1948

Argument| Oral argument
Holding
The distribution of anonymous handbills is protected by the First Amendment.
Court membership

Chief Justice
Earl Warren
Associate Justices
Hugo Black * Felix Frankfurter
William O. Douglas * Tom C. Clark
John M. Harlan II * William J. Brennan Jr.
Charles E. Whittaker * Potter Stewart
Case opinions
Majority| Black, joined by Warren, Douglas, Harlan, Brennan, Stewart
Concurrence| Harlan
Dissent| Clark, joined by Frankfurter, Whittaker
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. I

Talley v. California, 362 U.S. 60 (1960), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States voided a Los Angeles city ordinance which forbade the distribution of any handbills in any place under any circumstances if the handbills did not contain the name and address of the person for whom it was prepared, distributed, or sponsored.

Talley is often cited for the proposition that identification requirements burden speech.

## The Importance of Anonymous Speech

[edit]

Talley v. California is notable for its exposition on anonymous speech. While looking at historical applications of anonymous speech, the court points to two uses in particular that influenced their decision.

1. Fear of Retaliation - Speaking anonymously protects those that criticize oppressive practices from the oppressors.
2. Focus on the Message - Listeners focus on the message rather than the messenger when speech is anonymous.

## Dissent

[edit]

Although the dissent also saw the important protections of anonymous speech, it did not see any danger in this particular instance. The right to speak anonymously had to weigh against the benefit of the public knowing the author. As the dissent saw no evidence that any harm would come to Talley by revelation of his identity, the public knowledge outweighed Talley's right to anonymous speech.

## See also

[edit]

* List of United States Supreme Court cases
* Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume
* List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 362
* Anonymous Online Speakers v. United States District Court for the District of Nevada
* McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission

## References

[edit]

## External links

[edit]

* Text of Talley v. California, 362 U.S. 60 (1960) is available from: CourtListener Findlaw Google Scholar Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio)

This article related to the Supreme Court of the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template