The Importance of Near v. Minnesota

The importance of the press

The 1931 Supreme Court case of Near v. Minnesota was one of the first major Supreme Court cases dealing with censorship of the Press. The case centered on the actions of Jay Near and a Minnesota state law prohibiting a newspaper from making malicious and untrue statements. 

An example of Near's paper and the charges it brought forth

Jay Near was the owner of a Minnesota newspaper, The Saturday Press, which he used to make anti-Semitic and racist remarks. Near accused the police chief of Minneapolis, along with the Mayor of Minneapolis and other prominent citizens and government officials of corruption. Along with corruption charges Near wrote on how Jewish gangs were running amok unchallenged in Minneapolis and how the Jews had most of the power in Minnesota. Near was eventually challenged by local officials under Minnesota state law and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled that Near’s rights were violated under the Due Process clause of the 14^th Amendment which prohibits states from restricting essential rights.

I find the case of Near v. Minnesota to be one of the more important Supreme Court cases in American history. As vile and racist as the actions of Near were I still believe that he should have been allowed to publish what he wanted. The Minnesota state law was far too broad to be acceptable and the potential for abuse was staggering since lawmakers could ban newspapers if they found content in it that was objectionable. By repealing the Minnesota state law the Supreme Court struck a major blow against censorship and helped to ensure the continued survival of the Press. After all, if leaders found content objectionable in newspapers they could have them shut down by claiming that they ran untrue or malicious stories.