Selective Incorporation Case

The Bill of Rights was created to protect the basic rights of citizens living in the United States from the national government. However, there were many state and local government throughout this nation’s history that restricted the basic rights of their own citizens. Then came selective incorporation which is a process that saved many innocent people from prison for acting out their basic rights. Selective incorporation is not a law but it is a doctrine that makes sure the states’ lawmaker are not taking away American citizens constitutional right. This process opens a way to stop local and state government from taking away or creating laws which disobeys the constitution of the United States of America. We understand that even if these rights are never to be taken away, the government has ways to restrict someone from exercising their right. When the national government steps in to these situations it reminds us why we need the national government, to ensure that we are protected from those who want to take away our fundamental right.
Minnesota case of 1931, is a landmark Supreme Court case which provides an insight on how selective incorporation works. It begins when a man named Near, published an article which people claimed to be hateful and racist. The state police of Minnesota arrested Near because this was released to the public which was a violation of the Minnesota Gag Law of 1925. This was implemented because they wanted to prevent hate speech in the media which they were afraid would cause a riot. Near stated that this was a violation to his 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech, he wanted to express how he felt not start a riot. This case went to the Supreme Court which turned to be an important case for everyone in the