On appeal, the Supreme Court ruled the imposition of damages for truthfully publishing public information violates the First Amendment.

The Sheriff's Office put the details of what happened, including the victim's full name, in the general crime report for the county, which is placed in its press room and made available.

On September 26, 1984, Freedman sued both the Sheriff's Office and the newspaper for violating Florida's shield law, Stat.

§ 794.03, which makes it unlawful to "print, publish, or broadcast... in any instrument of mass communication" the name of the victim of a sexual offense.

Second, the law basically punishes a newspaper which truthfully prints information which it had legitimately obtained from a government agency.