From the book SPEAKING FREELY by renowned first-amendment litigator Floyd Abrams, published back in 2005. He is discussing his involvement in the case of Landmark Communications v. Virginia (1978). A newspaper owned by Landmark had published an (accurate) story that a certain juvenile-court judge in that state was under investigation on a "fitness" grounds. There had not yet been a disciplinary hearing: the investigation might have concluded there was no need for one. At this point, under Virginia law, the investigation was supposed to be confidential, for the protection of the reputation of the judge and other reasons. The newspaper was criminally prosecuted. The matter went up to the US Supreme Court where Abrams argued. Abrams maintained that no accurate reporting about the performance of the duties of a public official can constitutionally be criminalized. This brings us to the bit I want to quote. Abrams reports that he was discussing this case...