The Rights Of The United States - 1684 Words

Former U.S. President John F. Kennedy once said, â€Å" Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty†(â€Å"John,† p.1). Indeed, throughout the course of history of United States, peoples’ liberty has been established as the most important aspect of American people. Liberty is understood as a basic right of freedom in which everyone can engage without control or interference by a government or other power. Based on that principle, Selective Incorporation is a process of constitutional law in which some provisions of the Bill of Rights are nationalized to the states through the Fourteenth†¦show more content†¦To clarify, Near was accused of violating a law because he revealed wrongdoings of the local government. Moreover, the trial judge issued an injunction â€Å"preventing Near from publishing the newspaper in the future† (â€Å"Near,† p.36). As is evidenced, Minnesota officials felt the need to stop Near from incriminating their conducts. But obviously, their decision violated Near’s freedom of press which state government have to obey due to â€Å"Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment† (â€Å"Near,† p.37). Near appealed the case to the U.S. Supreme Court; and the court â€Å"voted 5–4 to declare the Minnesota Gag Law unconstitutional â€Å"(â€Å"Near,† p.37). It is important to realize that through process of selective incorporation, the federal government has the duty to force state government to protect their citizens’ liberties. Similar to Near v. Minnesota, selective incorporation had helped Lawrence Robinson win in Robinson v. California in which the Supreme Court’s decision regarded the Eighth Amendment, the cruel-and-unusual-punishment clause. The issue occurs when Robinson was â€Å"sear ched and questioned† by Officer Brown â€Å"on the streets of Los Angeles† even though â€Å"he was not doing anything wrong† (â€Å"Robinson,†