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Legal Principle at Issue

Whether a Florida statute that afforded a right to reply to personal attacks on political candidates by newspapers violated the First Amendment.

Action

Reversed. Petitioning party received a favorable disposition.

Importance of Case

In his 2005 memoir, Floyd Abrams, who filed an amicus brief, noted that "even though voters might have had more information as a result of the statute, the Court concluded that this was simply not an area in which a state legislature could" act.