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National Security v. The First Amendment

“Congress shall make no law. . .abridging the freedom of the speech, or of the press” (First Amendment)

One purpose of the Constitution is to. . .provide for the common defense. . . (Preamble)

Article II of the Constitution makes the Executive branch responsible for the nation’s safety.

Denver Dispatch v. United States
Denver Dispatch Brief for the U.S. Supreme Court

We are the petitioners, representing the Denver Dispatch newspaper. We appear before you today to reverse the lower court order imposed on the Denver Dispatch. Is freedom dangerous? This case is whether the Denver Dispatch newspaper should publish future articles on the biological weapons lab or if the government has the right to stop them. The lower courts decided the Denver Dispatch should stop writing further articles about the biological weapons laboratory outside Boulder, Colorado. They said that National Security laws were more important than American’s right to free speech and press. 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 from publishing articles about biological warfare at the Boulder Research Laboratory is because of what is written in the United States Constitution. The First Amendment clearly states, “Congress hall make no law. . .abridging the freedom of speech or press. . . .” We believe this applies to the Denver Dispatch case because the Denver Dispatch is writing about secret information from the government. The government wants them to stop writing articles about the secret lab. But the Denver Dispatch has freedom of speech and press from the First Amendment. The war in Afghanistan is all the way across the sea and the Denver Dispatch newspaper is unlikely to get all the way over there. Even if it did, many people over there do not read English. Also, Osama Bin Laden has been killed, so Al-Qaeda has no leader. Also, the last attack on the United States was ten years ago. Bin Laden took twenty years to plan the 911 attack, so it will probably take that amount of time to attack again. The lab information will be out of the Denver Dispatch in about two years!

In Schenck v. the United States in the year 1919, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote as part of the majority, “. . .what someone is Constitutionally allowed depends upon the time and place in which it’s done.” We believe this applies to the Denver Dispatch case because we are not in a bad time or place. Some people would say we are at war, but Afghanistan is across the sea and it’s not a big war. The terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden is dead so the Al Qaeda terrorists don’t know what to do. Also, the government killed Bin Laden’s son so the son cannot become the new leader of Al-Qaeda. Also, there have not been any recent attacks since 911.

In Near v. Minnesota in the year 1931, Justice Hughes wrote as part of the majority, “We have to ask ourselves if our tradition of Freedom of the Press is damaged by the Minnesota law [that silences trouble makers]. We have believed the freedom of the press means we can publish what it wants and the government can’t stop the newspaper from publishing what it wants.” We believe this applies to our case because the Minnesota law is like the Preamble. Both laws are against the First Amendment.

The last reasons we believe the Supreme Court should remove the court order that forbids the Denver Dispatch from publishing further articles about biological warfare at the Boulder Research Laboratory is because of the past Supreme Court decision, NY Times v. United States in 1971. In the New York Times Company v. the United States in the year 1971, Justice Black wrote as part of the majority opinion, “The phrase ‘national security’ is broad and unclear. It is wrong to put national security above the First Amendment. This applies to the Denver Dispatch case because we have the freedom of the press and speech. Our nation will still be secure because the Lab has safety features.

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.

Denver Dispatch v. United States
United States Government Brief for the U.S. Supreme Court

We are the respondents, representing the United States. We appear before you today to ask the Supreme Court to uphold the court order the lower courts imposed on the Denver Dispatch newspaper. The lower courts believed that the Denver Dispatch should not publish the five other articles. The Court of Appeals agrees with the lower court. This case is all about the Denver Dispatch finding our secret government information and publishing this secret information. We believe the Supreme Court should forbid the newspaper to publish further articles about biological warfare research at the Boulder Research Laboratory.

The first reason we believe the Supreme Court should forbid the newspaper from publishing further articles about biological warfare at the Boulder Research Laboratory is because of what is written in the United States Constitution. In the Preamble it says we have to keep peace in the nation and defend the nation as a whole against foreign enemies. We have to protect the community from people that want to destroy the nation. We have to protect our nation against enemies from Afghanistan, Pakistan, or Iraq that would want to destroy the plant and our nation.

In Schenck v. the United States in the year 1919 Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote as part of the majority, “Are the words that are said or written in such a way that they cause a clear and present danger?” This applies to our case because if terrorists or any other enemies find out about the information that the Denver Dispatch is giving, they will take advantage of it and attack us. Osama Bin Laden was killed recently and angry mobs all over the world are protesting against his death.

In Near v. Minnesota in 1931, Justice Butler wrote as part of the minority opinion, that we had a write to stop a newspaper from publishing when it “threatens morals, peace, and order.” The articles the Denver Dispatch wrote could lead the nation and the world into chaos. Countries that were originally part of the Soviet Union could threaten us. Also, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq might attack us too.

The last reasons we believe the Supreme Court should forbid the newspaper to publish further articles is because of the “Pentagon Papers” case. In New York Times Company v. United States in 1971, Justice Brennan wrote as part of the minority opinion, “In the history of the Supreme Court, there has been a single, very narrow group of cases about the government’s ability to block news articles before they are printed. These cases have occurred only when the nation is at war. We believe this applies to the government’s case because countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq would threaten war with us. The other articles would let our enemies know more about the plant.

We ask the Justices to uphold the Constitutional right of the government to protect national security by blocking further Denver Dispatch articles on biological warfare research.

Denver Dispatch v. United States 2011
Docket Number 93-8000

1. The Story: There is a secret military lab in Boulder, Colorado making Anthrax X, a biological weapon. The Denver Dispatch published an article about the lab, and they want to publish more articles. The government does not want them to publish more articles. The lower courts agreed with the government and placed an injunction on the Denver Dispatch.

2. The Denver Dispatch Goes to the Supreme Court

The lawyers for the government argued: The Preamble of the Constitution requires the government to keep the nation safe. If more articles are published the information could fall into the wrong hands, damage the United States, and could start a war. In this case, freedom is dangerous and the time and place does matter; people could panic if they knew about the lab.

The lawyers for the Denver Dispatch argued: The 1st Amendment of the Constitution guarantees freedom of the press. People need to know about the lab. Yes, we are at war, but it is not that big of a war and it is far away. The nation is still secure even after the publishing of one article about the lab.

The Supreme Court Justices decided:

The Supreme Court voted 7 to 2 in favor of the United States government.

Justice GiGGizwrote as part of the majority:

I believe the government has the right to stop the Denver Dispatch from publishing information about the military laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. They shouldn’t write about the biological weapons because it’s supposed to be a secret.

I do not believe the Denver Dispatch has the Constitutional right to publish information about the military laboratory in Boulder Colorado because they should have to ask the government if they could publish the information first.

Justice Skelton333 wrote as part of the majority:

I believe the U.S government has the Constitutional right to stop the Denver Dispatch from publishing information about the military laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. I believe the U.S. government has the right because they can’t see the future so they can’t know if there will be any danger ahead of them. Also, I think the Preamble is a bigger part in this case. For me, the most important thing is to keep the people safe. If people panic then it could lead to more danger than what the Denver Dispatch claims.

I don’t believe that the Denver Dispatch has the Constitutional right to publish information about the military laboratory in Bolder, Colorado. I believe the Denver Dispatch does not have the right because they did not give a lot of information. They kept saying they had the right to keep publishing, but they did not give as much information about why they should keep publishing. The only information they gave me was that they had the freedom of the press and that it will be helpful that the public will know what’s happening. Also, they were saying that there will be no danger, but we don’t know about that. I say that they are exaggerating a little bit.

Justice Speedwrote as part of the majority:

I believe the government has the Constitutional right to stop the Denver Dispatch from publishing information about the military laboratory in Boulder Colorado. I believe the government has this right because it could start a war. The one in Afghanistan could come over seas and they can attack us.

I do not believe Denver Dispatch has the Constitutional right to publish information on the military laboratory in Boulder Colorado. I believe the Denver Dispatch does not have this right because it could start a war.

Justice Soccer07 wrote as part of the majority:

I believe the government has the Constitutional right to stop the Denver dispatch from publishing information about the military lab in Boulder, Colorado. I believe the US government has this right to stop the Denver Dispatch from publishing more articles because the article would make the people know about the lab. If some terrorists read the newspaper it could be in danger.

I do not believe in Denver Dispatch has the right to publish information about the military laboratory in Boulder Colorado. I do not believe the Denver Dispatch has have the right to publish those articles because they’re making people mad, and they could move away.

Justice Boomer07 wrote as part of the majority:

I believe the Government has the Constitutional right to stop the Denver Dispatch from publishing information about the military laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. I believe the US Government has this right because we have the Preamble by our side to protect what the government says. I think the government has proved what they have to use against the Denver Dispatch and that is why the Denver Dispatch should not publish more articles. They also proved we have to keep our nation in peace and protect ourselves from foreign enemies.

I believe that the Denver Dispatch does not have the Constitutional right to publish more articles because they did not show why they should keep publishing. They did not introduce a lot of facts from the Preamble to the Constitution. The Denver Dispatch believes it should keep publishing and thinks it is ok, but the government says if they keep publishing the people will panic more. I believe the Denver Dispatch does not have the right to publish more articles because we do not want anyone to panic more. The panic can spread to more people. Al Qaeda is able to attack us without their leader.

Justice SoccerPlayer wrote as part of the majority:

I believe the government has the Constitutional right to stop the Denver Dispatch from publishing information about the military laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. I believe the U.S. Government has this right because the Denver Dispatch is writing about the military laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, and if people know about the laboratory they would panic.

The Government argued that they want to keep the nation safe, but I do not believe the Denver Dispatch has the Constitutional right to publish information about the military laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. I believe the Denver Dispatch does not have this right because they published a newspaper about biological warfare. If people knew about this, they would panic.

Justice Sparkles wrote as part of the majority:

I believe the government has the Constitutional right to stop the Denver Dispatch from publishing information about the military laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. I believe the government has this right because:

• They have the Preamble on their side;
• They want to keep the nation safe;
• It could start a war if the information got into the wrong hands;
• It could damage the United States;
• The time and place does matter, and
• People might panic if they know about the lab.

I do not believe the Denver Dispatch has the Constitutional right to publish information about the military lab in Boulder, Colorado. I believe the Denver Dispatch does not have this right because:

• It would let our enemies know;
• We wouldn’t know if a terrorist will attack or not;
• We’re at war, and
• The information could lead to any kind of danger.

We have to ask ourselves: What would happen if it got into the wrong hands? Is freedom dangerous?

Justice Star123 wrote as part of the minority:

I believe the Denver Dispatch has the Constitutional right to publish information about the military laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. I believe the Denver Dispatch has this right because it has the First Amendment and “congress shall make no law abridging speech or press.”

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. I believe US Government does not have this right because they can’t stop the Denver Dispatch from writing more articles about the laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. One article hasn’t hurt, so if they print five more articles the articles can’t hurt people.

Justice CookieMonster wrote as part of the minority:

I believe that it is not constitutional to stop the Denver Dispatch from printing more articles about biological warfare. The people have the right to know. They have the freedom of the press and the First Amendment to protect them. People will die if they don’t know about the lab and the Anthrax X leaked out. People wouldn’t know what it was, and they would not know the cure to their sickness. The antidote would be where the government was, not with the people. They people would have to find it and a lot of people would already have died. The leader of the 911 terrorist attacks has died and his son has died too so the terrorists have to find a new leader. That will take some time. That is why I think that it is not Constitutional for the government to stop the Denver Dispatch.