Lochner v. New York 198 U.S. 45 (1905) (50 Most Cited Cases)

Lochner is number 10 on the list of most cited US Supreme Court opinions. This ebook contains the full text of the Lochner decision.

In Lochner v. New York (1905), the Supreme Court ruled on the constitutionality of a New York statute forbidding bakers to work more than 60 hours a week or 10 hours a day. The Court found that the statute was not a legitimate exercise of the police power of the State, but an unreasonable, unnecessary and arbitrary interference with the right and liberty of the individual to contract in relation to labor.

The Court ruled that the statute interfered with the freedom of contract, and thus the Fourteenth Amendment's right to liberty afforded to employer and employee.

Lochner v. New York 198 U.S. 45 (1905)