Appeals Court judge: You can't censor news outlets

Jessica Heslam gets a copy of the appellate ruling letting Channel 7 air its story on the two Tai Ho firefighters by overturning a lower court ruling that banned it from doing so (even as every other news outlet in town was doing stories on the subject):

... "Simply put, the inability of the press to require the government to disclose information that is not part of the public record does not support a restraint on speech with respect to information already known to the press," Grainger wrote.

"Indeed and famously," the judge continued, "the presumption against prior restraints on free speech has prevailed even when the materials at issue are stolen and deal with issues of national security." ...

Other Tai Ho notes:

Jay Fitzgerald argues that, no matter what, the firefighters' families should not be denied death benefits:

... They were and are heroes. That was my initial reaction yesterday. It remains my reaction today. If there's any 'backpeddling' going on inside my mind, it's that the heroes might have been flawed heroes ...

Margalit, who knew one of the firefighters, remains furious both at the media and at whoever leaked the preliminary toxicology results:

Since we have absolutely NO proof that the firefighters were indeed impaired, and since they would have died in the fire impaired or not because of the flash fire between the dropped ceiling and the roof, which exploded and fell on them both, killing them instantly, it becomes VERY suspicious that this came up in the way that it did.

Very suspicious. ...

John Greiner-Ferris writes that Menino must avoid a witch hunt:

... If the city thinks it's a good idea to see if there's a drug and alcohol problem within the ranks of the fire fighters, then do it calmly and intelligently without pointing fingers or bringing politics into play. Do it for the safety of the public and the fire fighters themselves.

None of this should diminish any acts of heroism or simple humanism performed by these two men.

Earlier:
Why only Channel 7 didn't report on the Tai Ho autopsies.
Random drug tests for Boston firefighters?
John Tobin for mayor?
Oh, my: Were Tai Ho firefighters drunk, on coke?