Coppage v. Kansas

Fri, 30 Oct 1914 13:00:00 +0000

Case Basics

Docket No.

Petitioner

Coppage

Petitioner Type

Petitioner

Respondent

Kansas

Respondent Type

Respondent

Heard By

White Court (1914-1916)

Decided By

White Court (1914-1916)

Opinion

236 U.S. 1 (1915)

Argued

Friday, October 30, 1914

Decided

Monday, January 25, 1915

Facts of the Case

A Kansas law banned "yellow dog contracts." These were employer agreements barring employees from joining a labor union. Coppage, an employer, fired an employee who refused to sign such an agreement. Coppage was charged and convicted of violating the Kansas law. He appealed.

Question

Does the Kansas statute violate freedom of contract protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment?

Conclusion

Yes. The law was so arbitrary as to overcome the general presumption in favor of its validity. Legitimate exercises of the state police power could restrict freedom of contract, but there was no relationship here between the statute's purpose and the state's police-power goal.

Cases - 1914 term

Coppage v. Kansas