Near v. Minnesota

Appellant

J. M. Near

Appellee

State of Minnesota, ex rel. Floyd B. Olson, County Attorney of Hennepin County

Appellant's Claim

That a state "gag law" preventing publication of his newspaper constitutes prior restraint prohibited by the First Amendment.

Chief Lawyers for Appellant

Weymouth Kirkland, T. E. Latimer

Chief Lawyers for Appellee

James E. Markham, Arthur L. Markve

Justices for the Court

Louis D. Brandeis, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Charles Evans Hughes (writing for the Court), Owen Josephus Roberts, Harlan Fiske Stone

Justices Dissenting

Pierce Butler, James Clark McReynolds, George Sutherland, Willis Van Devanter

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

1 June 1931

Decision

The Supreme Court struck down the gag law.

Related Cases

• Adkins v. Children's Hospital, 261 U.S. 525 (1923).
• Gitlow v. New York, 268 U.S. 625 (1925).
• Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927).
• Stromberg v. California, 283 U.S. 359 (1931).
• New York Times v. United States, 403 U.S. 713 (1971).

Sources

Cornell. http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/.

First Amendment Center--Press. http://www.fac.org/press/press97.htm.