Prior Restraint

Billy McFarland

COM 377/577

Professor Anna Scott

Response Paper

PRIOR RESTRAINT

The term Prior Restraint refers to the use of censorship utilized by governmental bodies normally in civil and criminal cases. My understanding is that courts utilize this method to control the dissimilation of information that might hinder the process of a fair trial or to protect individuals from negative actions or responses due to the release of such information. Non-governmental bodies such as the press are expected to exercise this form of restraint before publishing any information that might place individuals or entities in a perilous situation.

These institutions are placed between a rock and a hard place trying to navigate between a capitalist society with free speech and understanding the need for the use of ethics and morals. Human lives and reputations are at risk. Governments can be thrown into turmoil and the average citizen can have their lives ruined by what some may think is news worthy.

I have the belief that this is fundamentally a struggle between the have and the have not’s in most cases. The average citizen does not have the resources to negate such powerful institutions whether it be the government or the press. There have been several recent and relevant cases in which I found that the press chose not to use restraint but decided to incite and propagate the most negative information about the young man who was shot and killed near St. Louis Mo. He was immediately demonized by the press instantly made into a monster regardless of his immature actions and bad decisions.

The nation might find such cases as Wiki Leaks as the most relevant of recent times. The scale and scope of the classified information can and will have profound effects far into the future. This particular case has changed the dynamic in which our government conducts all classified actions and the documenting of those actions. As a citizen I can see the need for the ability of the...