MUGLER v. KANSAS

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Case Basics
Petitioner 
Mugler
Respondent 
Kansas
Decided By 
Waite Court (1887-1888)
Opinion 
123 U.S. 623 (1887)
Argued 
Tuesday, October 11, 1887
Decided 
Monday, December 5, 1887
Term:
Facts of the Case 

A Kansas law prohibited the manufacture or sale of intoxicating liquor. Mugler was arrested for making and selling beer. This case was decided together with Kansas v. Ziebold.

Question 

Does the Kansas law violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?

Conclusion 

According to Harlan, the Kansas prohibition does not infringe on Fourteenth Amendment rights. Though Mugler has an abstract right to make liquor for his own use, such a right could be conditioned on its effect on others. Here the state legislature may exercise its police powers.

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MUGLER v. KANSAS. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 16 May 2012. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/1851-1900/1887/1887_0>.
MUGLER v. KANSAS, The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, http://www.oyez.org/cases/1851-1900/1887/1887_0 (last visited May 16, 2012).
"MUGLER v. KANSAS," The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, accessed May 16, 2012, http://www.oyez.org/cases/1851-1900/1887/1887_0.