Near v. Minnesota

Near v. Minnesota, 283 U.S. 697 (1931), properly Near v. State of Minnesota ex relatione Olson, County Attorney, was an important United States Supreme Court decision.

The official date is June 1, 1931.

Jay Near attacked city officials, claiming they had ties with criminals. An injunction was obtained to stop the printing of the article. The law stated that any person "engaged in the business" of publishing or promoting "obscene, lewd, and lascivious" or "malicious, scandalous and defamatory" stories was being a nuisance and could be forced to stop.

Near argued that that law violated the First Amendment.

The court held that, except in rare cases, it was unconstitutional to censor. The court held:

"For these reasons we hold the statute, so far as it authorized the proceedings in this action under clause (b) [723] of section one, to be an infringement of the liberty of the press guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. We should add that this decision rests upon the operation and effect of the statute, without regard to the question of the truth of the charges contained in the particular periodical. The fact that the public officers named in this case, and those associated with the charges of official dereliction, may be deemed to be impeccable cannot affect the conclusion that the statute imposes an unconstitutional restraint upon publication."

This case strengthened the notion that a "prior restraint" of the press violates the First Amendment. Note that the paragraph above cites the Fourteenth and not the First Amendment. This is because the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the First and makes it applicable to the States. As literally written, the First Amendment applies to "Congress" and the federal government, not the states.