| Show the ae SUPREME COURT A AND HOW y IT WORKS guarding personal rights by ROBERT MERRILL THE HE supreme court has protected citizens not only from f unfair treatment on the part of the federal government but also from being deprived of constitutional rights by the governments ern ments of their own states an act of legislature which discriminates crimi nates unfairly against a citizen violates his rights under the tha constitution the government must not only treat him airey fairly airly but must treat him in the same manner in which it treats other persons under similar conditions on frequent occasions citizens have appealed to the court and asked why should the law ot of my state impose hardships upon me which it does not impose upon other people this a discrimination against me and a violation of my right to the due process of law guaranteed by the constitution of the united states matrimonial rights when such a question 13 s brought before it the court studies the case and if it decides the petitioner is right assures the protection sought for example at one time in the eyes of the law husband and wife were regarded as a s one person the husband today however a married woman may enter into contracts and may own and enjoy her own property some years ago a state attempted to impose on one of its iti citizens an income tax which was calculated upon the combined incomes of the citizen and his wife because of the 9 graduated scale of taxation the tha amount of tax claimed was greater than it would have been had the individual in incomes of husband and wife been separately taxed the husband believed this unfair and appealed to the supreme court of the united states he pointed out that under the laws of the state lie he had no control over his cifes property or income and held that therefore it was unjust for the state to impose for them upon him the court heard his case agreed with his contention and gave the relief for which he asked de declaring clarin 9 the exaction arbitrary and a denial of due prices newspapers unfairly taxed we have no doubt explained the opinion that because of the tha fundamental conceptions which underlie our system any attempt by a state to measure the tax on one persons property or income by reference to the property or income of another is contrary to due process of law as guaranteed by the amendment that which is not in fact the taxpayers income cannot be made such by calling it income in a more recent case a state law was vas passed imposing a tax upon the advertising income of all newspapers in the state with a circulation of over a week since this affected only the larger publications they protested that they were being treated unfairly they held that while the state had power to impose taxes it had no right to tax some newspapers and not others un less there was some reasonable ground on which they dould could be differently ferent ly classified the suit was carried to the supreme court of the united states the tha court heard the newspapers appeal appe al and decided deci dei in their favor the court in its i ts opinion referred to an un trammelled press as a vital source of public information 1 it pointed out that the case went to the heart of the natural right of the members of an organized society united for their common good to impart and acquire information about their common interests freedom of the press the amendment to the federal constitution the op inin explained P pla bained ined provides that congress shall make no law abridging g the freedom of speech or of the press while this provision is n not ot a restraint upon the lowers of the states the states are precluded from abridging the freedom of speech ech or of the press by force of the due process clause of the amendment A free press it added stands as one of the great interpreters between the government and the people to allow it to be fettered is to fetter cetter ourselves in this way does our national umpire insist that the rules laid down by the people in the united states constitution be observed not only by the federal government but by all state governments as well a 0 western newspaper union |
