POS2041 Lecture Notes - Lecture 35: Willis Van Devanter, Incorporation Of The Bill Of Rights, Prior Restraint
17 Aug 2020
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Near v. minnesota case: facts of the case. In a minneapolis newspaper called the saturday press, jay near and howard guilford accused local officials of being implicated with gangsters. Minnesota officials sought a permanent injunction against the saturday press on the grounds that it violated the public nuisance law because it was malicious, scandalous, and defamatory. The state supreme court upheld both the temporary injunction and the permanent injunction that eventually issued from the trial court: constitutional question. Whether the minnesota "gag law" violated the free press provision of the first amendment: conclusion. The court held that the statutory scheme constituted a prior restraint and hence was invalid under the first amendment. The majority used the incorporation doctrine to apply the rights granted under the bill of rights to the states under the fourteenth amendment. In some situations, such as when speech is obscene, incites violence, or reveals military secrets, the government might be able to justify a prior restraint.
