Estes v. Texas/Dissent Brennan

by William J. Brennan, Jr.

Mr. Justice BRENNAN.

I write merely to emphasize that only four of the five Justices voting to reverse rest on the proposition that televised criminal trials are constitutionally infirm, whatever the circumstances. Although the opinion announced by my Brother CLARK purports to be an 'opinion of the Court,' my Brother HARLAN subscribes to a significantly less sweeping proposition. He states:

'The Estes trial was a heavily publicized and highly sentational affair. I therefore put aside all other types of cases * * *. The resolution of those further questions should await an appropriate case; the Court should proceed only step by step in this unplowed field. The opinion of the Court necessarily goes no farther, for only the four members of the majority who unreservedly join the Court's opinion would resolve those questions now.' Ante, pp. 590-591. (Emphasis supplied.)

Thus today's decision is not a blanket constitutional prohibition against the televising of state criminal trials.

While I join the dissents of my Brothers STEWART and WHITE, I do so on the understanding that their use of the expressions 'the Court's opinion' or 'the opinion of the Court' refers only to those views of our four Brethren which my Brother HARLAN explicitly states he shares.