Can CNN beat the White House in court? Look to the case 40 years ago of a loner journalist named Robert Sherrill.

Can CNN beat the White House in court? Look to the case 40 years ago of a loner journalist named Robert Sherrill.

November 13, 2018, Washington Post

Mark Lynch is quoted in the Washington Post about his representation of Robert Sherrill, a journalist who successfully sued the White House to re-obtain his press credential in 1977. Mr. Lynch said that the critical finding in Sherrill v. Knight was, given the  "important First Amendment rights implicated by refusal to grant White House press passes to bona fide Washington journalists, such refusal must be based on a compelling governmental interest.” In discussing a current challenge by CNN and Jim Acosta, Mr. Lynch adds, "Under the circumstances of the Acosta denial, the government is not going to be able to meet that standard.”