Truth-teller or bomb-thrower? Legal Schnauzer blogger jailed after violating court order | AL.com
Since 1931, the U.S. Supreme Court has found that the First
Amendment prohibits a court order restraining anyone from saying or publishing
something, even if it is defamatory. In Near vs. Minnesota, the U.S. Supreme
Court found that Jay Near, who published a scandal sheet about Minnesota politics,
could not be enjoined by the courts from publishing.
Later cases have upheld the decision, most notably in 1971 when
the New York Times and Washington Post sought to publish the Pentagon Papers, a
secret history and analysis of the Vietnam War compiled for the government.
In short, if you intend to commit libel or slander, you can
be punished or sued after the act, but not stopped from the act itself.
But that's exactly what happened in this instance, White
said.
