New York Times Co. v. United States (1971)
When the New York Times and the Washington Post published the top-secret "Pentagon Papers" in 1971, revealing damaging information of the government's duplicity in the Vietnam War, the Nixon administration obtained an injunction against the Times on grounds of national security. The Supreme Court found that the United States, which brought these actions to enjoin publication of certain classified material, did not meet the "heavy burden of showing justification for the enforcement of such a [prior] restraint on the freedom of press."
Justice Black and Justice Douglas concurred with the majority decision, stating, "The Government's case against the Washington Post should have been dismissed, and that the injunction against the New York Times should have been vacated without oral argument when the cases were first presented to this Court. I believe that every moment's continuance of the injunctions against these newspapers amounts to a flagrant, indefensible, and continuing violation of the First Amendment." He and other assenting justices argued that in this case, the government was not only asking the federal courts to declare that the First Amendment does not mean what it says, but to also declare that the Government can halt the publication of news vitally important and relevant to the people of the country. They cited that when the Constitution was first seeking adoption, many people were strongly opposed to it, for it lacked a Bill of Rights to safeguard basic freedoms, such as the freedom of speech and press. James Madison thus proposed what later became known as the First Amendment, in order to pacify their worries and guarantee that their civil liberties exist beyond the power of the power of the government. The amendments were offered to curtail and restrict the general powers granted to the three branches of government. The prevailing opinion of the court was that seeking injunctions against these newspapers and in the presentation of the government's contention in Court, the Executive Branch seems to have forgotten the essential purpose and history of the First Amendment. Both the history and language of the First Amendment supports the view that the press must be left free to publish news, whatever the source, without censorship, injunctions, or prior restraints."
The Full Supreme Court Opinion