Why was the Supreme Court Case "U.S. vs. Nixon" important in defining the powers of the branches of government?

The U.S. Supreme Court decision in United States
v. Richard M. Nixon was a landmark case in U.S. constitutional history and in
the history of American jurisprudence.  Following the indictment by federal grand juries
of seven senior members of the administration of then-President Richard M. Nixon, and
the demand by prosecutors for the tapes surreptitiously made by the president of
conversations he had in the Oval Office, the president refused to hand over the tapes,
citing "executive privilege" as the legal basis upon which he would refuse to cooperate
with the judicial branch of government.  In United States v. Nixon,
the Supreme Court, on July 24,1974, rejected the notion that the Executive Branch of
government could be immune from the legitimate demands of another branch of government,
in this case the Judiciary.  While recognizing that the concept of executive privilege
was legitimate within certain carefully proscribed boundaries, mainly those involving
national security and foreign affairs, the Court rejected Nixon's argument that
executive privilege could extend to domestic political matters.  As the Court's decision
stated:

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"Neither the doctrine of separation of powers
nor the generalized need for confidentiality of high-level communications, without more,
can sustain an absolute, unqualified Presidential privilege of immunity from judicial
process under all
circumstances"

In short, the
Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Nixon reaffirmed the
Founders' intent with regard to the separation of powers between branches of
government.