At that time most states had laws that in effect imposed no prior restraints, but did allow civil suits for defamation of character if the information printed was malicious or even just in error.

• 那时，大多数州的法律没有关于设立预先制约的规定，但是，如果刊登的内容是恶意的或者哪怕只是有误，法律便允许提出诬蔑人格的民事诉讼。