Minneapolis Star v. Minnesota Commissioner of Revenue

Appellant

Minneapolis Star & Tribune Company

Appellee

Minnesota Commissioner of Revenue

Appellant's Claim

That a state special tax assessment on ink and paper used in publication of the Star Tribune newspaper violated freedom of the press.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant

Lawrence C. Brown

Chief Lawyer for Appellee

Paul R. Kempainen, Special Assistant Attorney General of Minnesota

Justices for the Court

Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr., Warren E. Burger, Thurgood Marshall, Sandra Day O'Connor (writing for the Court), Lewis F. Powell, Jr., John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting

William H. Rehnquist

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

29 March 1983

Decision

Upheld the Minnesota Star's claim and overturned the Minnesota Supreme Court's decision that the special tax did not violate the newspaper's constitutional protections.

Related Cases

• Grosjean v. American Press Co., 297 U.S. 233 (1936).
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button, 371 U.S. 415 (1963).
• Arkansas Writers' Project, Inc. v. Ragland, 481 U.S. 221 (1987).
• Leathers v. Medlock, 499 U.S. 439 (1991).
• Turner Broadcasting System v. Federal Communications Commission, 520 U.S. 180 (1994).

Further Readings

• Biskupic, Joan, and Elder Witt, eds. Congressional Quarterly's Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court, 3rd ed. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1996.
• Hawke, Anne and Kevin Donnelly. "Paparazzi." The Quill. September 1998, p. 19.
• Schwartz, Bernard. Freedom of the Press: Constitutional Issues. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1992.