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Near v. Minnesota

The case of Near V. Minnesota (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 fought that that law violated the 1st amendment.

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