New York Times Company vs. US
Does prior restraint apply in this case?
The Case
The US held that the publication of these papers would endanger national security and that exercising prior restraint was necessary in order to protect it.
The New York Times argued that this was a violation of the First Amendment, and that the government had failed to produce reasonable evidence as to how national security would be threatened because of the publication of the documents.
The Decision
Because of this decision, the Pentagon Papers were released to the public, and many were further disillusioned by the exposing of the government's lies about the Vietnam War.
Terms to Know
injunction: a judicial order that restrains a person from beginning or continuing an action threatening or invading the legal right of another.
prior restraint: judicial suppression of material that would be published or broadcast, on the grounds that it is libelous or harmful.
First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.