U.S. FEDCourt order
Fourth Circuit strikes down West Virginia Daniel's Law in suits against Thomson Reuters, LexisNexis
The Fourth Circuit affirmed a ruling that West Virginia's Daniel's Law, which restricts publishing the home addresses and phone numbers of judicial and law enforcement officials, violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments. A former state law enforcement officer had sued Thomson Reuters America, LexisNexis Risk Solutions and other people-search providers under the law. The court said the statute's lack of a notice requirement, which similar laws include, was fatal.
Order (Bloomberg Law) → · National Law Journal, Law360
Key points
- The Fourth Circuit on October 27, 2026, affirmed a district court ruling striking down the law as unconstitutional.Bloomberg LawLaw360
- The law restricts publication of the home addresses and phone numbers of law enforcement and judicial officials.Bloomberg LawLaw360
- Former state law enforcement officer Michael Jackson sued Thomson Reuters America, LexisNexis Risk Solutions and others to enforce it.Bloomberg Law
- The panel held that the lack of a notice provision was fatal to the law under constitutional scrutiny.Bloomberg LawNational Law Journal
- The judges said West Virginia's law differs from similar state laws because it has no notice requirement.National Law Journal
- The court said the district court applied well-established First Amendment principles.Law360
Sources3 articles across 3 outlets
Filed under
Court orderThomson ReutersLexisNexisU.S.W. Va.West Virginia Daniel's LawCivil rightsData protectionLitigationFor practitionersFor vendors