While remembered largely as a case of wrongful conviction, the court case he brought (Sheppard v. Maxwell) was actually a case weighing freedom of the press against the right to a fair trial. The opinion that decided the case ruled that the right to a public trial transcended the right of an individual - that is, a defendant could not ask to keep a trial private to avoid the media. However, the court also agreed that Sheppard did not receive a fair trial, largely due to how much latitude the press was given: they were allowed, among other things, to sit so close to Sheppard and his lawyer (
F. Lee Bailey) that they could not have private conversations. The headlines that were written also prejudiced potential jurors, painting him as the prime suspect long before he was arrested.