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Simple English definitions for legal terms
Lochnerize
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A quick definition of Lochnerize:
Term: Lochnerize
Definition: To examine and reject laws about how much people can work, using the idea that these laws violate the right to due process. This is often done by courts, especially in the way the U.S. Supreme Court did it in the early 1900s. The term comes from a specific case, Lochner v. New York, where the Supreme Court said a law limiting how long bakers could work was unconstitutional. Lochnerization is the process of doing this.
A more thorough explanation:
Definition: Lochnerize (lok-nər-Iz), vb. To examine and strike down economic legislation under the guise of enforcing the Due Process Clause, especially in the manner of the U.S. Supreme Court during the early 20th century. The term takes its name from the decision in Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45, 25 S.Ct. 539 (1905), in which the Court invalidated New York's maximum-hours law for bakers.
Example: The Supreme Court's decision in Lochner v. New York is a classic example of Lochnerizing. In this case, the Court struck down a law that limited the number of hours that bakers could work in a week. The Court held that the law violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because it interfered with the bakers' right to contract with their employers.
Explanation: The example illustrates how the Supreme Court used the Due Process Clause to strike down economic legislation that it believed interfered with the freedom of contract. The Court's decision in Lochner v. New York is a prime example of this practice, which came to be known as Lochnerizing. The Court's reasoning in this case was controversial and has been criticized by many legal scholars.