In Ashcroft v. American Civil Liberties Union, 542 U.S. 656 (2004), the Supreme Court affirmed the grant of a preliminary injunction in a case where the Government had failed to show a likelihood of success under the compelling interest test. The Supreme Court reasoned that "as the Government bears the burden of proof on the ultimate question of the challenged Act's constitutionality, respondents the movants must be deemed likely to prevail unless the Government has shown that respondents' proposed less restrictive alternatives are less effective than enforcing the Act." Id., at 666.