The state of Alabama's experiment with censorship came to an end this week, after Jefferson County Circuit Judge Robert Vance realized that the Constitution's First Amendment trumped a gas company's abstract fear of a terrorist attack on Alabama's natural gas pipes. The court battle between the Montgomery Advertiser and Alagasco over its Distribution Integrity Management Program brought up the famous phrases that define the relationship between the press and the government: Prior restraint, clear and present danger, infringement of the liberty of the press.

In his remorseful ruling Tuesday, Vance added a few memorable catchphrases of his own:

In its motion for a temporary restraining order, the plaintiff raised the danger of terrorism and sabotage if data within its Distribution Integrity Management Plan were publicly disclosed. While such possibilities might exist, they now appear to be only vague phantoms. On reflection, the court finds that it too readily focused on such ghosts in entering the Temporary Restraining Order sought by the plaintiff.

Freed from the weeklong gag order, the Advertiser immediately published the document. It's part of an investigation by the Advertiser, USA Today and other Gannett news orgs into the dangers posed by gas leaks nationwide. That project includes a lookup database of gas leaks in your neighborhood. My glance through Alagasco's contested document confirmed that this is information that the public needs to know. It's the only way we can distinguish between vague phantoms and the hazards of real life.