united-states first-amendment incorporation
When was the freedom of speech part of the 1st Amendment first applied to the executive and judiciary?
<p>the first Amendment states:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This only mentions congress explicitly. According to <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/incorporation_doctrine" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/incorporation_doctrine</a> </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The First Amendment has been interpreted by the Court as applying to the entire federal government even though it is only expressly applicable to Congress. </p>
</blockquote>

<p>I would like to find the first court case where the first amendment was applied like this to the entire federal government(judiciary or executive).</p>

<p>Can you help?</p>

<p>At least in terms of U.S. Supreme Court decisions, the earliest I know of was <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/403/713" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>New York Times Co. v. United States</em>, 403 U.S. 713 (1971)</a>, which applied the standard First Amendment test for prior restraints to the judicial imposition of injunctions.</p>

<p><a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/283/697/" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>Near v. Minnesota</em>, 283 U.S. 697 (1931)</a> also applied First Amendment standards to an injunction, overturning the injunction and holding the state law authorizing such injunctions to be unconstitutional, at least as applied in the <em>Near</em> case. I believe this case was cited in <em>New York Times Co. v. United States</em> (the "Pentagon Papers" case). This was a case of state, not federal action, and so it applied the 1st as incorporated via the 14th, not directly as in <em>New York Times Co. v. United States</em>. See also <em>Minnesota Rag</em> By Fred W. Friendly, the excellent book about the <em>Near</em> case.</p>

<p>There was also <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/376/254/" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>New York Times Co. v. Sullivan</em>, 376 U.S. 254 (1964)</a>, the case that established the "actual malice" standard for defamation cases when the plaintiff is a public official (later expanded to "public figure"). Again this was a state case appealed to federal jurisdiction.  See also <em>Make No Law</em>, a very through book about the case.</p>

<p>There was also <a href="https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/310/296/" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>Cantwell v. Connecticut</em>, 310 U.S. 296 (1940)</a> in which an arrest for violation of a statute prohibiting solicitation of religious or charitable donations without a license and also for a common-law offense of breach of the peace was held unconstitutional. This is perhaps more of a case of an unconstitutional law being enforced, but arbitrary and hence unconstitutional administrative action in denying permits was mentioned in the decision.</p>
