# Howard v. Des Moines Register & Tribune Co.

> Supreme Court of Iowa · September 19, 1979 · 283 N.W.2d 289

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9861143

## Case

- **Full name:** Bobbin HOWARD, Appellant, v. DES MOINES REGISTER AND TRIBUNE COMPANY, Dr. Roy C. Sloan and Margaret Engel, Appellees
- **Court:** Supreme Court of Iowa
- **Decided:** September 19, 1979
- **Citations:** 283 N.W.2d 289; 5 Media L. Rep. (BNA) 1667; 1979 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 1000
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Uhlenhopp
- **Judges:** McCormick, Reynoldson, Allbee, Uhlenhopp, McGiverin, Rees, Harris, Larson, Legrand
- **Cited by:** 40 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9861143

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- stating that the exemption in the Iowa Freedom of Information Act for "hospital records" and "medical records" of a "patient or former patient, including outpatient," did not apply to "county home" records in possession of the Governor's Office because the documents, which add…

## Opinion text

UHLENHOPP, Justice
(concurring specially).
I concur in division II of the majority opinion and in the result. I am influenced by a desire not to chill First Amendment rights by a restricted application of newsworthiness.
On the other hand, I would not reach the subject of division I. That division involves the issue of what constitutes a public record for purposes of the tort of violating a person’s privacy. I would await an appeal which actually necessitates a decision on that subject. Involved inter alia is the question whether unsolicited letters written to public officials automatically become public records for purposes of the tort although the letters deal with private affairs which would otherwise be protected by tort law. The privacy of members of the public may hang upon a very slender thread, depending upon our conclusion on this subject.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9861143. Public record. Not legal advice.