July 1, 2020
AAP Joins Amicus Brief in Robert S. Trump v. Mary L. Trump and Simon & Schuster
The Association of American Publishers (AAP) has joined the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and the Association of PEN American Center, Inc. in filing an amicus brief in the case of Robert S. Trump v. Mary L. Trump and Simon & Schuster, asking the Court to summarily reject the request of Robert S. Trump to block further publication and dissemination of Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, authored by Mary L. Trump, Ph.D, a clinical psychologist and niece of President Donald J. Trump.
The brief argues that “The Supreme Court has, time and again, uniformly made clear the First Amendment’s fundamental role in protecting the publication and dissemination of speech—especially speech critical of government officials—from prior restraint,”and that enforcement of a confidentiality agreement between private parties implicates the First Amendment and its “prior restraint” doctrine, stating that “The First Amendment imposes limitations on the relief a court may grant in disputes between private parties because the Court’s relief is itself state action triggering First Amendment protection.”
The brief can be found here.