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Brief and Oral Argument, Denver Dispatch
May it please the court; we are the petitioners, representing the Denver Dispatch newspaper.
We appear before you today to ask the Supreme Court to remove the court order that forbids the Denver Dispatch from publishing articles about biological warfare at the Boulder Research Laboratory.
This case is all about how the Denver Dispatch should publish articles about secrets about the government’s biological warfare. We believe the Supreme Court should remove the court order that forbids the Denver Dispatch to publish articles about biological warfare at the Boulder Research Laboratory.
The first reason we believe the Supreme Court should remove the court order that forbids the Denver Dispatch to publish articles about biological warfare at the Boulder Research Laboratory is because of the past Supreme Court decision in Schenck v. United States, in 1919.
This case was about if Charles Schenck could publish anti-war leaflets that said the government shouldn’t be able to force young men into war. Congress had passed a new law that said it was against the law to encourage men to not be drafted for the war.
Justice Holmes wrote as part of the majority, ““We have to ask ourselves every time that we look at a case, ‘Are the words that are said or written used in such a way that they cause a clear and present danger?’…It is a question of how close is this possible danger and how dangerous it could be. Things which we allow in peacetime are sometimes too dangerous to allow in wartime.”
We believe this applies to the Denver Dispatch case because the Denver Dispatch has words that can cause danger. Also, things that are allowed in the Denver Dispatch in peacetime are dangerous in wartime.
The second reason we believe the Supreme Court should remove the court order that forbids the Denver Dispatch to publish articles about biological warfare at the Boulder Research Laboratory is because of the past Supreme Court decision in Near v. Minnesota in 1931.
This case was about whether Jay Near could publish his newspaper, the Saturday Press. The newspaper attacked everyone physically and emotionally.
Justice Hughes wrote as part of the majority that, ““We have usually believed that freedom of the press means that a newspaper can publish what is wants and that the government cannot stop it from publishing what it wants.”
We believe this applies to the Denver Dispatch case because the First Amendment protects the Denver Dispatch’s right to publish what it wants. The Denver Dispatch can publish information on the biological warfare (anthrax X).
The third reason we believe the Supreme Court should remove the court order that forbids the Denver Dispatch to publish articles about biological warfare at the Boulder Research Laboratory is because of the past Supreme Court decision in New York Times v. United States in 1971.
This case was about if the New York Times could publish the “Pentagon Papers” and if they were breaking a law publishing these papers with secret information.
Justice White wrote as part of the majority, ““There are times in which the press can be prevented from publishing information about government plans or operations.”
We believe this applies to the Denver Dispatch case because there are times when the Denver Dispatch can get prevented from publishing information but this time is not one of those times.
The last reasons we believe the Supreme Court should remove the court order that forbids the Denver Dispatch to publish articles about biological warfare at the Boulder Research Laboratory is because of the what is written in the United States Constitution.
It is written that in the Constitution that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press. Congress is not allowed to make laws that stop people from speaking, writing, printing, and broadcasting.
We believe that this applies to the Denver Dispatch because the government has no right to stop the Denver Dispatch from writing and printing.
It is also written in the Constitution that the people of the United States set out rules that the government must follow. The Constitution was made to keep peace in the nation, bring about justice, defend the nation a s a whole from foreign enemies, make peoples’ lives better, and make sure that the people remain free.
We believe that this applies to the Denver Dispatch because the Denver Dispatch was written to warn the people of anthrax x. This defends people’s lives.
You have heard the arguments from the petitioner, the Denver Dispatch. We ask the Justices to uphold the freedom of the press granted in the First Amendment and to allow the newspaper to continue to publish the articles about biological warfare research.
Brief and Oral Argument, United States Government
May it please the court; we are the respondents, representing the United States government.
We appear before you today to ask the Supreme Court to uphold the court order that the lower court and the appeals court imposed on the Denver Dispatch newspaper.
This case is about not letting the Denver Dispatch publish military secrets about biological warfare in Boulder, Colorado.
We believe the Supreme Court should forbid the newspaper from publishing further articles about biological warfare research at the Boulder Research Laboratory.
The first reason we believe the Supreme Court should forbid the newspaper to publish further articles about biological warfare research at the Boulder Research Laboratory is because of the past Supreme Court decision in Schenck v. United States, in 1919.
This case was about Charles Schenck printing 15, 000 leaflets.
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote as part of the majority, “What someone is constitutionally allowed to do depends upon the time and place in which it is done. . .Things which we allow in peacetime are sometimes too dangerous to allow in wartime.”
We believe this applies to the Denver Dispatch case because we are in a war. Freedom of speech isn’t important while in a war.
The second reason we believe the Supreme Court should forbid the newspaper to publish further articles about biological warfare research at the Boulder Research Laboratory is because of the past Supreme Court decision in Near v. Minnesota in 1931.
This case was about Jay Near publishing a newspaper which was anti-Jewish, anti-government, and it attacked everyone: gangsters, police, commissioners, and even the mayor.
Justice Butler wrote as part of the minority, “The newspaper has already published false and outrageous stories that harm the reputations of various people. The use of the law in this case is a way of punishing the newspaper for already abusing its right of freedom of the press.”
We believe this applies to the Denver Dispatch case because the Denver Dispatch is already abusing the Freedom of the Press.
The third reason we believe the Supreme Court should forbid the newspaper from publishing further articles about biological warfare research at the Boulder Research Laboratory is because of the past Supreme Court decision in New York Times v. United States in 1971.
This case was about whether it was constitutional for the New York Times to publish past military secrets and the thinking of the U.S. generals.
Justice Blackmun wrote as part of the minority opinion. “Each section of the Constitution is important and [we] do not believe that the First Amendment is so important. . . .”
We believe this applies to the Denver Dispatch case because we believe the First Amendment isn’t that important that it stands above the other sections.
The last reason we believe the Supreme Court should remove the court order that forbids the Denver Dispatch to publish articles about biological warfare at the Boulder Research Laboratory is because of the what is written in the United States Constitution.
It is written in the Constitution that the Constitution was made to “keep peace in the nation.”
We believe this applies to the Denver Dispatch case because if the lab gives out secrets there will be no peace in the nation.
It is also written in the Constitution that “the President is the Chief Executive.”
We believe this applies to the Denver Dispatch case because he (or she) must protect us if he (or she) thinks it is dangerous.
You have heard the arguments from the respondents, the United States government. We ask the Justices to uphold the constitutional right of the government to protect the national security by blocking the Denver Dispatch articles on biological warfare research.
Denver Dispatch v. United States 2009
Docket Number 93-8000
1. The Story:
The government want to stop the publication of the Denver Dispatch newspaper because they think it’s saying military secrets about a biological weapons laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. In the lower courts the Denver Dispatch lost and they kept appealing until they got to the Supreme Court.
2. The Denver Dispatch Goes to the Supreme Court
The lawyers for the government argued:
The lawyers for the government argued that the Denver Dispatch should not publish the Denver Dispatch because they thought it was giving away military secrets. They argued that the First Amendment right to Freedom of the Press was not the most important Amendment.
The lawyers for the Denver Dispatch argued:
The lawyers for the Denver Dispatch argued that they have the freedom to print their articles and the people should know what the military is doing in the lab.
The Supreme Court Justices decided:
The Supreme Court voted 5 to 4 in favor of the Denver Dispatch.
Writing for the majority, Justice RockGirl voted in favor of the Denver Dispatch. She wrote:
I, RockGirl, believe the Denver Dispatch has the Constitutional right to publish information about the military laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. I believe they have this right because you can’t break the Constitution because terrorists “might” attack or “may” attack. I do not believe the government has the Constitutional right to stop the Denver Dispatch from publishing because if the government stops the Denver Dispatch from publishing terrorists may still attack.
Writing for the majority, Justice Mets1 voted in favor of the Denver Dispatch. He wrote:
I, Mets1, believe the Denver Dispatch has the Constitutional right to publish information about the military laboratory in Boulder, Colorado because like the Denver Dispatch said, terrorists won’t attack because it is peace time not war time.
I believe the Government doesn’t have the Constitutional right to stop the Denver Dispatch from publishing information about the military laboratory in Boulder, Colorado because the Congress has no right to make laws that stop people from speaking, writing, printing, or broadcasting. I don’t think they have anything to be worried about because it is peacetime.
Writing for the majority, Justice SuperStar9 voted in favor of the Denver Dispatch. She wrote:
I, SuperStar9, believe the Denver Dispatch has the Constitutional right to publish information about the military Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. I believe they have this right because, “there are times in which the press can be prevented from publishing information about government plans or operations.” But this time is not one of those times. I do not believe the government has the Constitutional right to stop the Denver Dispatch from publishing information about the military in Boulder, Colorado. We believe this applies to the Denver Dispatch case because the Denver Dispatch is already abusing the freedom of the press. But they aren’t publishing false and outrageous stories. So why punish them?
Writing for the majority, Justice HolibackGurl voted in favor of the Denver Dispatch. She wrote:
I, HolibackGurl, believe the Denver Dispatch has the Constitutional right to publish information about the military laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. I believe that they have this right because they published one article and there has been no terrorist attack. Also they are warning people about this Anthrax X so if this stuff got out it could have killed someone. I do not believe the government has this Constitutional right to stop the Denver Dispatch from publishing information about the military laboratory in Boulder, Colorado because they put national security in front of the First Amendment. Also they didn’t do very well about answering questions.
Writing for the majority, Justice BlackPanther voted in favor of the Denver Dispatch. He wrote:
I, BlackPanther, believe the Denver Dispatch has the Constitutional right to publish information about the military laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. I believe they have this right because the people should know what the government is doing in the lab. The government said they have the cure for Anthrax X so why are they afraid that the Denver Dispatch will publish the secrets? We are in peacetime not in wartime. I do not believe the government has the Constitutional right to stop the Denver Dispatch from publishing information about the military laboratory in Boulder, Colorado because they said they have the cure for Anthrax X so why should they be afraid. The Denver Dispatch has freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
Writing for the minority, Justice Alvarez voted in favor of the government. He wrote:
I, Mario64, believe the government has the Constitutional right to stop the Denver Dispatch from publishing information about the military laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. I believe they have this right because they want to publish papers that reveal the military secrets. I do not believe the Denver Dispatch has the Constitutional right to publish information about the military laboratory in Boulder, Colorado because it’s revealing military secrets that are not supposed to be heard even if there is a virus or anything that might get us sick.
Writing for the minority, FamousStar3000, voted in favor of the government. She wrote:
I, FamousStar3000, believe the government has the Constitutional right to stop the Denver Dispatch from publishing about the military laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. I think the government has the right to stop publishing these articles. The government wants to keep our county safe. I do not believe the Denver Dispatch has the right to publish these articles. The articles might fall into the wrong hands and something bad might happen. Even though it’s been peacetime for a long time, you don’t know what can happen. Something can happen any day now if those articles are published.
Writing for the minority, Justice Luigi2Power voted in favor of the government. He wrote:
I, Luigi2Power, believe the government has the Constitutional right to stop the Denver Dispatch from publishing information about the military lab in Boulder, Colorado. I believe they have the right because like they said, if the newspaper was published then our enemies can find out and the public might worry. I do not believe the Denver Dispatch has the right to publish information about the military secrets because our enemies might find out, and they will make a plan to destroy us.
Writing for the minority, Justice MusicGirl voted in favor of the government. She wrote:
I, MusicGirl, believe the Government has the Constitutional right to stop the Denver Dispatch from publishing information about the military laboratory. I believe they have this right because what if the next five articles put us in danger if they are published? What if people find out more about Anthrax X and it gets in the wrong hands and hurts innocent people and the military can’t get there in time to stop the Anthrax X? Like the attorneys for the government said, “The First Amendment isn’t the most important part of the Constitution.” I believe that because it’s not the only Amendment or the only part of the Constitution. I think they should all be thought of as equally. Also, like the people in my family say, “You’re better safe than sorry.” I do not believe the Denver Dispatch has the Constitutional right to publish information about the military laboratory in Bolder, Colorado. First, when I saw the attorneys argue for the Denver Dispatch they looked like they weren’t collected. But when I saw the attorneys argue for the government, I thought that they were very put together and knew what they were doing. Second, I liked the way they said their argument and stated their rebuttal. They answered the questions very clearly, and I wasn’t as confused when they were stating their rebuttal and argument. So that’s why I agree with the government.
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