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Near v. Minnesota 1931. The Case of the Miscreant Purveyor Of Scandal. What’s at Stake. Prior Restraint Prevention or censorship of materials from reaching publication. Freedom of Speech 1 st Amendment Due Process 14 th Amendment. People Involved:.
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Near v. Minnesota 1931 The Case of the Miscreant Purveyor Of Scandal
What’s at Stake • Prior Restraint • Prevention or censorship of materials from reaching publication. • Freedom of Speech • 1st Amendment • Due Process • 14th Amendment
People Involved: • Howard Guilford – Publisher of the Saturday Press. • Jay Near – Reporter. • Floyd B. Olson – Hennepin County Attorney – later the Governor of Minnesota.
Sequence of Events • 1925 – Minnesota Public Nuisance Law enacted. • Judges can cease publications before publication deemed: • Scandalous • Defamatory • Malicious • 1927 – The Saturday Press hits the stands. • Story says city is run by Jewish gangsters in cooperation with the police chief and mayor. • June 1, 1931, Near v. Minnesota decided.
Arguments • State of Minnesota: • Contended no injunction was issued against the paper prior to publication. • Near’s Attorneys: • Argued no state can deny freedom of the press by using prior restraint. • Said the state injunction against future issues was prior restraint.
Case Outcome • Court Opinion • 5-4 decision. • Justices focused on 14th Amendment. • The Nuisance Law was a suppression not just of defamatory material, but of future publication, a violation of due process and freedom of speech.
Barred Speech • Speech that can be suppressed: • Obscenity • Publication of critical war information. • Publication inciting public violence and government overthrow. • Publications invading private rights.
Links • Near V. Minnesota case syllabus and opinions. • Near v. Minnesota recent citations. • Supreme Court case resource site. • Supreme Court site. • 14th Amendment Text.