The Herald is a United States Supreme Court case that was decided in 1865. The court ruled on the issue of whether or not an individual could be held liable for libel if they published false information about another person without malice and with no intent to harm them. The court found that even though there was no malicious intent, the publisher still had a duty to exercise reasonable care when publishing such material and should have taken steps to verify its accuracy before printing it. As such, the publisher was held liable for any damages caused by their negligence in this regard. This decision set an important precedent regarding freedom of speech and press as well as personal responsibility when disseminating potentially damaging information about others.

The Herald was a case that centered around the issue of whether or not an individual had the right to publish and distribute newspapers without prior government approval. The majority opinion held that Congress did have the power to regulate newspaper publication, while Justice Field dissented from this view. He argued that such regulation violated freedom of speech as protected by the First Amendment, which he believed should be interpreted broadly in order to protect individuals' rights against governmental interference. Furthermore, he noted that even if Congress could regulate publications for reasons related to public safety or morality, it still lacked authority over matters concerning private citizens' opinions and beliefs expressed through their own newspapers. As such, Field concluded that any attempt at regulating newspaper publishing would constitute an unconstitutional infringement on free speech rights under both federal and state law.