Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > Freedom of the Press

The right, guaranteed by the FIRST AMENDMENT to the U.S. Constitution, to gather, publish, and distribute information and ideas without government restriction; this right encompasses freedom from PRIOR RESTRAINTS on publication and freedom from CENSORSHIP.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads, in part, "Congress shall make no law… abridging the FREEDOM OF SPEECH, or of the press." The courts have long struggled to determine whether the Framers of the Constitution intended to differentiate press freedom from speech freedom. Most have concluded that freedom of the press derives from freedom of speech. Although some cases and some legal scholars, including Justice POTTER...