PHILADELPHIA - The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear a suit filed against a Pennsylvania newspaper that identified a 15-year-old rape suspect.
The suspect, who was charged with raping a 7-year-old girl, had appealed a federal appellate court's dismissal of his 2003 suit against the Herald Standard of Uniontown.
"I'm disappointed that they chose not to hear it," said the suspect's lawyer, Peter M. Suwak of Washington, Pa., adding that he knew the odds were long.
"The idea behind confidentiality for a juvenile is to give them a second chance, so their reputation in the community is not wrecked," he said.
Pennsylvania law generally prohibits law enforcement agencies from disclosing the names of minors arrested for crimes until they have been convicted, but the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the prohibition does not extend to newspapers.
"A newspaper may not be held liable for its publication of lawfully obtained, truthful information on a matter of public significance unless imposing liability would be the most narrowly tailored means of serving a state interest of the highest order," Judge Richard L. Nygaard wrote in an April opinion that dismissed the case.
The suspect previously settled his suit against Uniontown police, whom he alleged disclosed his name to the newspaper. The department settled without admitting or denying the allegation, Suwak said.
The rape charge was later dropped, but not before the arrest had been reported by the Herald Standard.
Charles Kelly, a lawyer for the newspaper, did not immediately return a message left at his Canonsburg firm after hours Monday.
