Court Case
By Bryan MacDonald
Cohen vs Cowles Media Co.
Cohen, an assistant for a gubernatorial race gave information to the press concerning the opposing candidate. Cohen made a contract to keep the information from being affiliated with his name, but his name eventually got out with the information. Cohen sued after losing his job, and the case eventually was repealed to the next level of court until it got national attention.
Question?
Is it unconstitutional to exploit Cohen’s name after a contract was signed to prohibit that very action?
My Opinion
This is a tricky one, and I think the name should have been kept confidential because there was a legal contract involved that the newspapers had agreed upon. If something was signed to keep a promise, it is at the newspaper's fault for violating the contract. It may be a right to have freedom of speech, but there was only one major thing a paper couldn’t do, and they did it. This should be punished from my perspective, making the paper pay a significant fine.