PLUMLEY v. MASSACHUSETTS

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Case Basics
Docket No. 
406
Petitioner 
Plumley
Respondent 
Massachusetts
Decided By 
Fuller Court (1894-1895)
Opinion 
155 U.S. 461 (1894)
Argued 
Thursday, April 5, 1894
Decided 
Monday, December 10, 1894
Term:
Facts of the Case 

Plumley was convicted of violating a 1891 Massachusetts law which banned the manufacture and sale of oleomargarine colored yellow to look like yellow butter produced from pure milk.

Question 

Did the act violate the Commerce Clause?

Conclusion 

No. The Court held that the statute did not interfere with interstate commerce but served the important function of protecting the people of Massachusetts "against fraud and deception in the sale of food products." The law did not prohibit the sale of oleomargarine, just those forms of it which were colored to look like natural butter.

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PLUMLEY v. MASSACHUSETTS. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 26 April 2013. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/1851-1900/1893/1893_406>.
PLUMLEY v. MASSACHUSETTS, The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, http://www.oyez.org/cases/1851-1900/1893/1893_406 (last visited April 26, 2013).
"PLUMLEY v. MASSACHUSETTS," The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, accessed April 26, 2013, http://www.oyez.org/cases/1851-1900/1893/1893_406.