Wikileaks v. United States

This thursday, October 9th 2014 the final decision in the case Wikileaks vs. United States will be made.  This case deals with prior restraint and  because this information released from Wikileaks posed a threat to the citizens of the United States and it’s National Security it became a major issue.  Wikileaks differs from previous cases such as the 1970 Pentagon Papers, New York Times v. United States, in which materials from the Vietnam War were released.  The big difference is the timeliness in which this information was released.  In Wikileaks v. US the information was released during the war and posed an ongoing, present threat while the pentagon papers were released years after the war was over.  In New York Times v United States the court felt that prior restraint was not warranted, but does the timeliness of Wikileaks v. US affect how the court will decide this case?

There are two ways the case will be decided for Wikileaks v. United States; the court will side with the first amendment rights and protect freedom of speech and press (Wikileaks) or side with the protection of our national security (US).  If the court sides with Wikileaks they will be able to continue to release and publish classified government information but I believe they will try to restrict it as they did in the NYT v. US case, if they do win.  This could pose more threats to our national security and the citizens of the United States in the future.  On the other hand, if the United States wins the release of classified government information will stop and or be punished depending on the severity of the issue.  The safety of our citizens and national security will increase with no more information being released that can potentially harm us.   I’m excited to see the courts decision, for or against prior restraint?

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