MBE Rules · Constitutional Law
1A — Prior restraint
Near v. Minnesota / NY Times v. US
The rule
Government suppression of speech before it occurs bears a heavy presumption against constitutionality. A valid prior restraint must (1) address a special societal harm (e.g., troop movements, obscenity), (2) provide narrow, specific standards, and (3) supply prompt judicial review. Licensing schemes require narrow, definite standards and procedural safeguards (Freedman v. Maryland).
In plain English
The government's least-favored speech tool: gag orders, injunctions against publication, licensing schemes. Almost always fails.
How examiners test it
Injunction against a newspaper publishing sensitive material — Pentagon Papers-style fact pattern.
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