Multilingual Liberty
Hi fellow steemians and lawyers, in this time i will update with the sentence Meyer vs. Nebraska, one of the first judgement regarding religious liberty in the 20th century in the U.S., in this days specially when has been so many issues regarding multiethnic persons coexisting each other. It is important to understand how unfair was the religious liberty in the state of Nebraska in early 20th century, in order to disincentivize the amishes and menonites immigration having some states like Pensylvannia, and according to the anti-germanic wave just in the heat of WWI and WWII. In that context, turmoil like it is oday, happen to get caught some person (plaintiff) teaching the germain language. Then the Supreme Court of the U.S. intend to establish the rule of law to liberty of taught.
Besides, the law cited was an state response in America to the huge surging of german immigrants the U.S had faced between the 1920-1930's, and it was increased by the defeat of the German side in the WWI and WWII, where almost 7 million of immigrants land to the freedom land.
MEYER V. NEBRASKA, 262 U.S 390 (1923)
Facts:
The plaintiff was convicted for taught a foreign language (germain) to a 10 years-old child according to the abolition rules of the St. Nebraska.
The supreme court of the St. Nebraska declared it was unlawful attitude with deserve to be punished according to the criminal justice within the state for children who haven’t got the eighth grade .
The plaintiff used the writ of certiorari to the U.S Supreme Court, it is a legal mechanism to guarantee the hearing of a supreme judicial stage.
Problem:
Does the state statute elaborate and apply and unreasonably infringement to the liberty right guaranteed to the fourteenth constitutional amendment?
Yes, for the following reasons:
Holding:
The state statute is making an explicit interference in their citizen’s liberty right. Directly in conflict with the due process clause elaborate in the Federal Constitution.
An state has no the faculty to use forbidden means which clearly breaches the Federal Constitution. Therefore, the Nebraska statute is overturneed.
There is no evidence about how the teaching of foreign language in under eighth-graded students could be found out as harmful in the citizens.
Although there is no a limited guideline about the proper exercise of police power is subject to supervision by the Courts applying the stare decisis expressed up in Adams v. Tanner, supra, P. 244 U.S 594.
Rule of law: The right of liberty shall not be transgressed by legislative action which involves arbitrary and proscribed means even so is within the competency of the State.
Decision: Reversed the Nebraska’s Supreme Court decision.
Conclusion:
As we can see nowadays, the german population in America adapted pretty well and take the lead in many economic sectors of the economy and even politics (Nixon, Eisenhower, Hoover and Trump all got some kind of german herritage) higlighting its importance. And later but no less important, the protestant religious allegiance that grants certain share of values with the anglo-saxon population.
Consequentially, It was an important milestone in the freedom of teaching languages in the history of the U.S. and deserves to be review in a vernacular manner for everyone to be understood!!
Thank you very much, keep in touch with many issues in my blog