Case Categories: Antitrust Laws and the First Amendment

Over the years, Congress has adopted legislation to discourage the concentration of business ownership in the United States. The Sherman Antitrust Act, for example, makes it illegal to monopolize or engage in practices that restrain trade.

In some cases, the courts have had to consider antitrust law in light of First Amendment rights of petition and a free press.

• Associated Press v. United States (1945)

  Associated Press v. United States (1945) upheld an injunction against The Associated Press for violating anti-trust laws, saying the anti-trust law promoted the...

• Citizen Publishing Co. v. United States (1969)

  Citizen Publishing Co. v. United States (1969) affirmed that two newspapers run under a joint operating agreement were not exempt from antitrust laws by the...

• Eastern Railroad Presidents Conference v. Noerr Motor Freight, Inc. (1961)

  Eastern Railroad Presidents Conference v. Noerr Motor Freight, Inc. (1961) held that the First Amendment protected a railroad publicity campaign against...

• Federal Trade Commission v. Superior Court Trial Lawyers Association (1990)

  FTC v. Superior Court Trial Lawyers Association (1990) said the First Amendment didn't protect a boycott of a system of reduced-fee legal services for sheer...

• Lorain Journal Co. v. United States (1951)

  Lorain Journal Co. v. United States (1951) said punishing a newspaper for attempting to monopolize interstate commerce did not infringe on the First Amendment...

• National Society of Professional Engineers v. United States (1978)

  National Society of Professional Engineers v. United States (1978) said First Amendment protections did not prevent the government from limiting anti-...