No. 22-777

William E. Henry v. Steven T. Marshall, Attorney General of Alabama

Lower Court: Eleventh Circuit
Docketed: 2023-02-17
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response Waived
Tags: butterworth-precedent compelled-speech constitutional-law first-amendment free-speech grand-jury grand-jury-secrecy prior-restraint secrecy witness-testimony
Key Terms:
SocialSecurity FirstAmendment
Latest Conference: 2023-03-17
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether Alabama's Grand Jury Secrecy Act restricts a grand jury witness's public disclosure of their own testimony — including information known to the witness before testifying and information learned as a result of appearing as a witness — after they have appeared as a witness violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTION PRESENTED Nearly 33 years ago, this Court decided Butterworth v. Smith, 494 U.S. 624 (1990), holding that grand jury secrecy laws restricting a grand jury witness from disclosing their own testimony after the conclusion of the grand jury are unconstitutional. The Butterworth majority’s consideration of such secrecy laws did not, however, address the constitutionality of grand jury secrecy laws that prohibit a witness’s disclosure of their own “experience” before the grand jury. Id. at 629 n.2. The question presented is: Whether Alabama’s Grand Jury Secrecy Act restricts a grand jury witness’s public disclosure of their own testimony — including information known to the witness before testifying and information learned as a result of appearing as a witness — after they have appeared as a witness violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Docket Entries

2023-03-20
Petition DENIED.
2023-03-01
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/17/2023.
2023-02-21
Waiver of right of respondent Steven Marshall to respond filed.
2023-02-15
2023-01-20
Application (22A654) granted by Justice Thomas extending the time to file until February 15, 2023.
2023-01-17
Application (22A654) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from January 16, 2023 to February 15, 2023, submitted to Justice Thomas.

Attorneys

Steven Marshall
Edmund Gerard LaCour Jr.Office of the Attorney General, Respondent
Edmund Gerard LaCour Jr.Office of the Attorney General, Respondent
William Henry
William C. White IIBoles Holmes White, LLC , Petitioner
William C. White IIBoles Holmes White, LLC , Petitioner