Somehow copies of .

             the documents were obtained by the New York Times, and in June 1971 .

             they began publishing a series of articles based on the study. Nearly .

             immediately a telegram was issued to the Times by the Attorney General .

             John Mitchell ordering that it halt publication. The Times refused, .

             and the government brought suit against them. Thus began a remarkably .

             swift journey of justice ending at the Supreme Court. The first court .

             decision, issued by NY federal district court Judge Gurfein, was in .

             favor of the Times. However, the federal appellate court reversed this .

             decision and ordered the newspaper to halt publication. Meanwhile, the .

             Washington Post had obtained copies and had begun to print them, and .

             the government brought suit against them as well. The US Court of .

             Appeals for the District of Columbia decided not halt publication. The .

             case was picked up by the Supreme Court in late June, just 11 days .

             after the first suit. This was the first attempt by the federal .

             government to restrain the publication of a newspaper, but in 1931 the .

             state government of Minnesota had made such an attempt. Near vs. .

             Minnesota involved an anti-Semetic newspaper carrying on a smear .

             campaign against local officials. Here the Supreme Court laid the .

             precedent of prior restraint. The Court ruled that a prior restraint .

             of publication would be allowed only in the most exceptional cases. .

             That is, one that threatened "grave and immediate danger to the .

             security of the United States." From the government's point of view, .

             the Times case was such an exceptional case. The government's case .

             rested on four arguments. The first was that many of the documents .

             were stamped TOP-SECRET. The second argument was the fact that the .

             papers were stolen, and the newspapers had no right to have them, much .

             less publish them. Also, disclosure of the papers' contents, such as .

             the United States' involvement in the assassination of South Vietnam .