In the 1917 case Toledo Newspaper Company et al. v. United States, the U.S Supreme Court upheld a contempt of court conviction against The Toledo News-Bee newspaper for publishing articles criticizing a federal judge during an ongoing trial. The paper had published editorials and cartoons suggesting that Judge Killits was biased in favor of the government in a pending criminal prosecution case involving labor union leaders accused of violating antitrust laws. The Supreme Court ruled that such publications could potentially influence public opinion and interfere with fair trial proceedings, thus constituting contempt of court under judicial powers to protect their dignity and independence as well as ensure orderly conduct within courts' vicinity or so near thereto as to obstruct justice administration.

In the dissenting opinion for Toledo Newspaper Company et al. v. United States, Justice Holmes argued that the court's decision to hold newspapers in contempt for criticizing judges and their decisions was a violation of free speech rights protected by the First Amendment. He contended that such criticism did not pose a clear and present danger to obstruct justice or impede judicial proceedings, which should be the threshold for limiting free speech in this context. Furthermore, he expressed concern about potential abuse of power by judges who might use contempt charges as a means to suppress public scrutiny or criticism of their actions. In his view, freedom of press is essential for holding public officials accountable and maintaining democratic governance; therefore it should only be restricted under exceptional circumstances where there is an immediate threat to justice.