New York Times Co. v. United States
Definition
A landmark Supreme Court case from 1971 where the court ruled that the First Amendment protected the right of the New York Times to print classified documents (the Pentagon Papers) without risk of government censorship or punishment.
Analogy
Think of this like a teacher trying to stop you from sharing your test answers with a classmate because they think it's cheating. But if you can prove that sharing these answers actually helps everyone learn better, then you should be allowed to do so. Similarly, The New York Times was allowed to publish classified information because it served the public interest.
Related terms
Pentagon Papers: Secret Department of Defense study of U.S. political and military involvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967, which were leaked by Daniel Ellsberg.
Whistleblower: A person who exposes secretive information or activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, unethical, or not correct.
Classified Information: Material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected.
"New York Times Co. v. United States" appears in:
Study guides (2)
Practice Questions (6)
- In New York Times Co. v. United States, what did the Supreme Court rule?
- The Pentagon Papers scandal and the Supreme Court case of New York Times Co. v. United States (1971) are examples of:
- The Supreme Court ruling in New York Times Co. v. United States (1971) established a "heavy presumption against prior restraint" which means that the government must:
- The primary concern in New York Times Co. v. United States (1971) was whether publishing the Pentagon Papers would:
- In New York Times Co. v. United States (1971), the Supreme Court ruled that the newspaper was allowed to publish the Pentagon papers because:
- What is a direct result of the Supreme Court case "New York Times Co. v. United States" (1971)?
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