LOCHNER Meaning and
Definition
-
Lochner refers to a legal doctrine or the Lochner era, an important period in the history of American constitutional law. It commonly denotes a line of judicial decisions by the United States Supreme Court during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term "Lochner" specifically refers to the Supreme Court case of Lochner v. New York, decided in 1905.
In Lochner v. New York, the Supreme Court struck down a state law that limited the number of hours a baker could work each day. The Court, by a narrow majority, held that this law violated the freedom of contract protected by the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause. The decision became highly controversial as it was seen as an example of judicial activism and an improper interference by the judiciary in economic and social policy.
Consequently, the term "Lochner" has come to symbolize an era characterized by a Court that strongly protected individual liberties, including the freedom to contract, against state economic regulation. Lochner is often associated with a laissez-faire approach to the law, where the Court tended to strike down economic regulations enacted by the states, arguing that they violated individual liberty and interfered with the freedom to contract. This era and the consequential Lochner decision have been widely criticized as judicial overreach and an attempt to undermine the power of democratically elected legislatures to enact social and economic regulations.
Common Misspellings for LOCHNER
Similar spelling words for LOCHNER
