Can my local newspaper do this to me?

Question

My fiance and I are getting married tomorrow. To make it legal on Tuesday we had to apply for a marriage license. We asked the court house not to put it in the local paper, and they gave us a name at the newspaper office of a person to talk to about it. He was not in so we left him a note with our names and phone number and what we had stopped to see him about. For two days we hear nothing from him. This morning I called and he told me that it was not his department and transferred me to a female. I explained to her and she said that they were publishing it anyway because we don't have a good enough reason to have it not published and that it was a public matter and they have the right to publish it even though we requested that they not do so. Is it against our rights as U.S. citizens for them to do this? Is there anything I can do about it? Can I call a lawyer and sue them for this?

Answer 1

They can do it, they are not violating your rights to privacy because they are reporting truthfully and accurately as a matter of course. You can try to get an injunction for them not to publish it, but since marriage is a matter of public record, I think you have a pretty weak case.

Answer 2

There's not much you can do about it, because it is a matter of public record. Although why your newspaper would force the issue is pretty silly on their part. Since your not wanting publicity i'm not sure there is anything at all you can do. If you wanted i suppose you could write a letter to the editor stating your distaste for their obvious lack of customer service and apparent lack of news stories if they feel the need to print something as trivial as a marriage announcement that someone wishes not to have printed. It makes the newspaper look like a rag and the people running it look like amateurs. Shame on them.
Beyond that - sorry to say you really don't have much recourse.
Sorry to hear your newspaper is so bad.

Answer 3

By applying for the license you have made your marriage a matter of public record. That being the case, the newspaper is fully within its rights to publish this record.

Answer 4

I don't know what the big deal is, but I am afraid you have no means for a lawsuit. Your application for a marriage license is PUBLIC record. Therefore they have the right to publish it. Sorry, don't believe I'd waste my time with a laywer, don't think you have any recourse.

Answer 5

Only a lawyer familiar with the laws in your jurisdiction can answer that question properly. You can, however, write a letter of protest to the editor of that paper, and to competing papers. Their abrogating your right to privacy is detestable, but what's worse is their haughty attitude, which in effect says "F*CK YOU!" Not the best of ways to deal with potential customers - but news organizations are notorious for their cavalier attitudes. That's one reason so many of us now get our news from the Internet, where we can choose non-corporate-owned media outlets to support. The more of us cancel our subscriptions, the harder it'll be for the newspapers to treat us like dirt they way that b*tch did you...

Answer 6

I can understand your anger over the incredibly insolent behavior by this person, but your marriage is a matter of public record.
I'd consult a lawyer, but I don't believe there's much you can do, except make your feelings known.

Answer 7

since it public record all marriages and thus all deaths, births in the state anyone is allowed access to that information unless you can show immediate harm directly related to the publication

Answer 8

Yes, blame Bush:P

Answer 9

I hope so. This FREE PRESS can sometimes be such a crock.

Answer 10

They can do it.It's freedom of the press.