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Lochner v. New York

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Case Basics
Docket No.: 
292
Petitioner: 
Lochner
Respondent: 
New York
Decided By: 
Fuller Court (1903-1906)
Opinion: 
198 U.S. 45 (1905)
Argued: 
Thursday, February 23, 1905
Decided: 
Monday, April 17, 1905
Categories: 
contract clause, police power, states, labor, fourteenth amendment, due process, employment

Cite this page
The Oyez Project, Lochner v. New York , 198 U.S. 45 (1905)
available at: (http://oyez.org/cases/1901-1939/1904/1904_292)
(last visited Monday, November 23, 2009).
Facts of the Case: 

The state of New York enacted a statute forbidding bakers to work more than 60 hours a week or 10 hours a day.

Question: 

Does the New York law violate the liberty protected by due process of the Fourteenth Amendment?

Conclusion: 

The Court invalidated the New York law. The majority (through Peckham) maintained that the statute interfered with the freedom of contract, and thus the Fourteenth Amendment's right to liberty afforded to employer and employee. The Court viewed the statute as a labor law; the state had no reasonable ground for interfering with liberty by determining the hours of labor.