7/09/2004 11:25:15 AM|||Nathan Moore|||

Just received in the mail today David Bernstein's collection of articles discussing Lochner and its prodigy (er, disobedient children). Should be good reading.

Lochner v. New York is every modern-day conservative's beacon of light in American jurisprudence. In it, the SCOTUS upheld the right to contract. In 1905, when it was decided, I suppose the concept of freedom was a no-brainer. Unfortunately, the idea of allowing individuals to negotiate freely, without government intervention, was too much for progressives to bear. The holding of Lochner was slowly but surely chipped away upon by the Court as the Great Depression set in, with the slow death ending in 1937 with West Coast Hotel v. Parrish.

Bernstein's thesis is that Lochner is not completely dead. We just need the right case to revitalize it.

|||108939073576349245|||Good Reading