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Prior Restaint - Sample Answer |
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Prior Restaint - Sample Answer |
2. An injunction prohibiting any future publication of a newspaper is a prior restraint. Middleton tells us that in the United States the presumptionis that prior restraints are unconstitutional. (p. 68)
In this case, the facts given in the question are very similar to the facts in the case of Near v. Minnesota. (Middleton, p. 68-69). As in Near, a public nuisance law was used by government officials to enjoin the publication of a newspaper that was publishing libelous material. The U.S. Supreme Court found the nuisance law to be a violation of the First Amendment. The Court identified three circumstances where prior restraints may be constitutional: wartime, obscene speech and incitement to violence. None of those circumstances are present in the current case. (Middleton, p. 69; class website)
No. The injunction will be overturned on appeal because based on the precedent of Near v. Minnesota it is a violation of the First Amendment.
