Supreme Court Rejects Journalist's Wrongful Arrest Appeal

Was Villarreal's arrest a clear First Amendment violation or a justified use of qualified immunity?

Published 4 days ago·Updated 3 days ago

Supreme Court Rejects Journalist's Wrongful Arrest Appeal

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Above: The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 27. Image credit: Alex Wroblewski/AFP/Getty Images

The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

Qualified immunity exists for good reason — officers can't be expected to predict how courts will rule on untested statutes. Villarreal wasn't arrested for asking questions; she solicited nonpublic information from a public official for personal gain, and a neutral magistrate found probable cause. No binding precedent in 2017 made that arrest unconstitutional, so the Fifth Circuit got it right.

Reason.com TDCAA Supreme Court of the United States

Establishment-critical narrative

Arresting a journalist for asking a cop a question is a First Amendment violation — full stop. Even Trump-appointed judges called it obvious, and 21 major news organizations backed Villarreal because routine newsgathering can't be criminalized. SCOTUS declining to take the case doesn't make the arrest right; it just means qualified immunity still desperately needs reform.

Jackson Walker

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