Near v. Minnesota ex rel. Olson

Thu, 30 Jan 1930 13:00:00 +0000

Location

The Saturday Press

240 South 4th Street Minneapolis MN 55401

Minneapolis, MN 55401

United States

44° 58' 41.7972" N, 93° 15' 58.2912" W

See map: Google Maps

Case Basics

Docket No.

Petitioner

Near

Petitioner Type

Petitioner

Respondent

Minnesota ex rel. Olson

Respondent Type

Respondent

Heard By

Taft Court (1925-1930)

Decided By

Hughes Court (1930-1932)

Opinion

283 U.S. 697 (1931)

Argued

Thursday, January 30, 1930

Decided

Monday, June 1, 1931

Facts of the Case

Jay Near published a scandal sheet in Minneapolis, in which he attacked local officials, charging that they were implicated with gangsters. Minnesota officials obtained an injunction to prevent Near from publishing his newspaper under a state law that allowed such action against periodicals. The law provided that any person "engaged in the business" of regularly publishing or circulating an "obscene, lewd, and lascivious" or a "malicious, scandalous and defamatory" newspaper or periodical was guilty of a nuisance, and could be enjoined (stopped) from further committing or maintaining the nuisance.

Question

Does the Minnesota "gag law" violate the free press provision of the First Amendment?

Conclusion

The Supreme Court held that the statute authorizing the injunction was unconstitutional as applied. History had shown that the protection against previous restraints was at the heart of the First Amendment. The Court held that the statutory scheme constituted a prior restraint and hence was invalid under the First Amendment. Thus the Court established as a constitutional principle the doctrine that, with some narrow exceptions, the government could not censor or otherwise prohibit a publication in advance, even though the communication might be punishable after publication in a criminal or other proceeding.

Cases - 1929 term

Near v. Minnesota ex rel. Olson

Location