<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Laws applied </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> U.S. Const . amend . I </Td> </Tr> <P> New York Times Co. v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971), was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the First Amendment . The ruling made it possible for The New York Times and The Washington Post newspapers to publish the then - classified Pentagon Papers without risk of government censorship or punishment . </P> <P> President Richard Nixon had claimed executive authority to force the Times to suspend publication of classified information in its possession . The question before the court was whether the constitutional freedom of the press, guaranteed by the First Amendment, was subordinate to a claimed need of the executive branch of government to maintain the secrecy of information . The Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment did protect the right of The New York Times to print the materials . </P>

New york times co. v. united states definition
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