LAWRENCE MILTON JOHNSON, APPELLANT,
v.
THE EVENING STAR NEWSPAPER CO., ET AL., APPELLEES
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The court held that the publication of a person's name and identifying details after being wrongly accused of crimes, when the events were newsworthy, does not constitute an invasion of privacy.
Appellant was wrongly identified and arrested for crimes, later cleared. Appellees published news accounts of his clearance, including his name and id…
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PER CURIAM:
Appellant was the innocent victim of a mistaken identification as the person who committed two serious crimes in the District of Columbia. He was arrested, charged with the crimes and spent some time in jail before being released when the mistake was discovered. Appellees in their newspapers of wide circulation published accounts of his clearance, giving his name, address and other identifying information, with some details of the resumption of his family life after his ordeal. He sued appellees for damages, claiming that such publications invaded his right of privacy. Appellees’ motions to dismiss were granted and the complaint was dismissed.
We think the facts as set forth in the complaint, admitted for purposes of the motion to dismiss, failed to state a cause of action. We therefore affirm.
The publications contain no criticism whatever of appellant. There was not the slightest adverse reflection upon him or suggestion of defamation or ridicule of him. His identification as the victim of the mistake, by including his name and otherwise placing him in his environment did not give rise to a recoverable wrong. The principal events were already in the public domain, and were of news interest. The identifying details were incidental to the story and were not an enlargement which carried the publications beyond legitimate bounds. Elmhurst v. Pearson, 80 U.S.App.D.C. 372, 153 F. 2d 467 (1946).
Affirmed.