New York Times v. United States (1971) established that the government cannot do what to prevent publication?

• A. Impose prior restraint on the press
• B. Require government review before publication
• C. Ban all articles critical of the government
• D. Tax newspapers for content

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is the protection against prior restraint—the government stopping a publication before it happens. In New York Times v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled that the government cannot impose prior restraint on the press. The Pentagon Papers case involved the Nixon administration seeking to block publication of classified papers; the Court said such pre-publication censorship violates the First Amendment unless there’s a very strong, clearly demonstrated threat—something the government did not prove here. Because prior restraints undermine a free press and informed citizenry, this action is not allowed, making the best answer that the government cannot prevent publication in advance.

Other options describe related concepts (like requiring government review before publishing, which is another form of prior restraint) or actions that would still violate free speech or involve different issues (such as taxing newspapers for content), but they do not reflect the Court’s ruling in this case.