Rufus Wheeler Peckham

Name: Lochner v. New York — Opinion of the Court
Author: Rufus Wheeler Peckham

Lochner v. New York — Opinion of the Court

Summary

“Lochner v. New York — Opinion of the Court”, is a work by Rufus Wheeler Peckham. It explores elements such as the Federal Constitution, labor and baker.

Quotes from Lochner v. New York — Opinion of the Court (Rufus Wheeler Peckham)

Rufus Wheeler Peckham, Lochner v. New York — Opinion of the Court

“ There must be more than the mere fact of the possible existence of some small amount of unhealthiness to warrant legislative interference with liberty. It is unfortunately true that labor, even in any department, may possibly carry with it the seeds of unhealthiness. But are we all, on that account, at the mercy of legislative majorities? A printer, a tinsmith, a locksmith, a carpenter, a cabinetmaker, a dry goods clerk, a bank's, a lawyer's or a physician's clerk, or a clerk in almost any kind of business, would all come under the power of the legislature on this assumption. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Rufus Wheeler Peckham, Lochner v. New York — Opinion of the Court

“ There is no reasonable ground for interfering with the liberty of person or the right of free contract by determining the hours of labor in the occupation of a baker. There is no contention that bakers as a class are not equal in intelligence and capacity to men in other trades or manual occupations, or that they are able to assert their rights and care for themselves without the protecting arm of the State, interfering with their independence of judgment and of action. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Rufus Wheeler Peckham, Lochner v. New York — Opinion of the Court

“ In our judgment, it is not possible, in fact, to discover the connection between the number of hours a baker may work in the bakery and the healthful quality of the bread made by the workman. The connection, if any exists, is too shadowy and thin to build any argument for the interference of the legislature. If the man works ten hours a day, it is all right, but if ten and a half or eleven, his health is in danger and his bread may be unhealthful, and, therefore, he shall not be permitted to do it. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Rufus Wheeler Peckham, Lochner v. New York — Opinion of the Court

“ The mandate of the statute that "no employé shall be required or permitted to work," is the substantial equivalent of an enactment that "no employé shall contract or agree to work," more than ten hours per day, and, as there is no provision for special emergencies, the statute is mandatory in all cases. It is not an act merely fixing the number of hours which shall constitute a legal day's work, but an absolute prohibition upon the employer's permitting, under any circumstances, more than ten hours' work to be done in his establishment. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Rufus Wheeler Peckham, Lochner v. New York — Opinion of the Court

“ They are in no sense wards of the State. Viewed in the light of a purely labor law, with no reference whatever to the question of health, we think that a law like the one before us involves neither the safety, the morals, nor the welfare of the public, and that the interest of the public is not in the slightest degree affected by such an act. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Rufus Wheeler Peckham, Lochner v. New York — Opinion of the Court

“ No trade, no occupation, no mode of earning one's living could escape this all-pervading power, and the acts of the legislature in limiting the hours of labor in all employments would be valid although such limitation might seriously cripple the ability of the laborer to support himself and his family. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Rufus Wheeler Peckham, Lochner v. New York — Opinion of the Court

“ Adding to all these requirements a prohibition to enter into any contract of labor in a bakery for more than a certain number of hours a week is, in our judgment, so wholly beside the matter of a proper, reasonable and fair provision as to run counter to that liberty of person and of free contract provided for in the Federal Constitution. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Rufus Wheeler Peckham, Lochner v. New York — Opinion of the Court

“ In our large cities there are many buildings into which the sun penetrates for but a short time in each day, and these buildings are occupied by people carrying on the [p60] business of bankers, brokers, lawyers, real estate, and many other kinds of business, aided by many clerks, messengers, and other employs. Upon the assumption of the validity of this act under review, it is not possible to say that an act prohibiting lawyers' or bank clerks, or others from contracting to labor for their employers more than eight hours a day, would be invalid. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Rufus Wheeler Peckham, Lochner v. New York — Opinion of the Court

“ These several sections provide for the inspection of the premises where the bakery is carried on, with regard to furnishing proper wash-rooms and water-closets, apart from the bake-room, also with regard to providing proper drainage, plumbing and painting; the sections, in addition, provide for the height of the ceiling, the cementing or tiling of floors, where necessary in the opinion of the factory inspector, and for other things of [p62] that nature ”

Rufus Wheeler Peckham

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