The Supreme Court cases that created legal precedents have shaped our society and impacted equal freedoms. For example, Brown v. Board of Education, overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, a case that established the “separate but equal” doctrine. This decision helped initiate the Civil Rights Movement and desegregated schools nationwide. It also helped establish legal precedent that influenced other civil rights manners today.
1. Lochner Case
When it comes to the Supreme Court’s application of substantive due process of law to economic regulation, the Lochner case stands as a high point, says experts at the team at Blackacre. The case revolved around a bakery owner named John Lochner who was arrested and fined for violating the Bakeshop Act, which prohibited New York employers from letting their employees work more than 60 hours a week. After being convicted in state courts, he appealed to the Supreme Court.
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes authored a famous dissent in the case that condemned the majority opinion of the court. Holmes wrote that the Court had no authority to review laws based on “mere economic theories.” His dissent was a major turning point in American constitutional law.
The case was eventually decided in favor of New York. The decision made the judiciary a consistent adversary of legislatures for 30 years, a period of time that came to be known as the “Lochner era.” In many cases, the Supreme Court struck down labor reform legislation, arguing it was repugnant to the Constitution.
In one of the more ironic turns of history, the case came to Lochner’s aid after he lost his original attorneys and replaced them with Henry Weismann. Weismann was a former bakery worker who had been a union organizer and editor of The Baker’s Journal. He also studied law, though he never gained formal admission to the bar.
Weismann was not the most likely choice of attorney to argue against a labor law, but his persistence in appealing the case eventually paid off. Upon hearing the arguments, Justice Brewer sided with Weismann and found that New York had acted rationally when passing the law.
Three years after Lochner, the Supreme Court upheld Oregon’s law limiting the number of hours that women could work. The case marked the beginning of a shift away from the Lochner era, as judges began to recognize that states have a right to regulate terms of employment without violating the Fourteenth Amendment. Ultimately, the Supreme Court re-interpreted the Lochner case in 1937 with the decision West Coast Hotel v. Parrish, which established that states can impose laws on the terms of employment as long as they are “rational.”
2. Adkins Case
When it comes to preserving your property’s natural light, it is important to understand the law around rights of light. The right to light is a form of easement that allows a property owner to enjoy sufficient natural light to ‘apertures’ (usually windows) on their land, even when it is owned by another person. Rights of light are a powerful tool for restraining development and can be invoked in circumstances where planning permission is not available. The concept of rights to light is complex and largely dependent on case law precedents. It is therefore crucial to obtain the advice of specialist surveyors and valuers when considering compensation claims or development projects.
The key case that has shaped this area of the law is Adkins v Children’s Hospital. The hospital was building a new maternity department and, like many hospitals, was relying on a minimum wage to recruit staff. A group of women who worked at the hospital sued, arguing that the law infringed on their freedom to contract and was unconstitutional. The Court agreed, and the minimum wage was declared invalid.
Although it may seem obvious that the right to light cannot be infringed, there are some common misconceptions about this aspect of property law. For example, some people believe that a sign on the window saying ‘Ancient Lights’ gives some additional protection. The truth is that this is not the case.
Where there is interference with a right to light, the impacted party can apply to the Court to have the works stopped or, where this is not possible, to have all or part of the works destroyed. The Court will assess the current and future uses of the affected property, as well as its location, when determining whether to award damages or an injunction.
The right to light is a powerful legal tool for restraining development, and it is important to understand how the law works when developing or purchasing land. It is vital that anyone intending to develop or build near to a property that has a claim to a right to light obtains the advice of a specialist surveyor and valuer before any work begins. This will help ensure that any potential rights to light issues can be resolved as amicably and cost-effectively as possible.
3. Obergefell Case
James Obergefell and John Arthur met over two decades ago and established a long-term relationship, building their lives together. In 2011, however, Arthur was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive disease that causes irreversible muscle weakness. Knowing his time was limited, he and Obergefell decided to commit their lives together through marriage. In 2013, they traveled from Ohio to Maryland, where same-sex marriage is legal, and married. But the State of Ohio refused to recognize their marriage or record it on his death certificate, despite a federal court order.
The majority in this case argues that the States’ refusal to honor their lawful marriages violates the Fourteenth Amendment and a fundamental liberty guaranteed by the First Amendment. They rely heavily on the precedent of Griswold v. Connecticut, which invalidated a law banning the use of contraceptives on the ground that it infringed on an individual’s “right to be let alone.”
But the Supreme Court has consistently recognized that the Constitution contains no such right. Moreover, a wide array of amici have warned the Court that this decision will have unavoidable implications for religious freedom.
The majority also claims that it is merely “returning to the well-established law of this Court” and following its precedent of adopting a “cautious approach” to implied fundamental rights. But, if that were true, then the Court would not have needed to overrule Glucksberg, which clearly established the limits of substantive due process for the kinds of rights at issue here. The fact is that, rather than employing a careful approach, this Court has chosen to revive the grave errors of Lochner and its aftermath.
4. Cooper Case
The Cooper Case is a notorious unsolved crime case that involved hijacking a Boeing 727 and demanding a ransom. The hijacker, known as D.B. Cooper, jumped from the plane and disappeared after receiving his demand for $200,000 in cash.
The investigation into the crime was stifled by the government due to political pressure. Despite the clear evidence against the suspects, authorities failed to pursue multiple concrete leads and instead pin the crime on a man who was innocent. The case was appealed several times, but the Supreme Court refused to hear the appeals and affirmed the convictions.
Whether or not the Supreme Court was right to do so remains controversial. Legal scholars have argued that the Court was overstepping its bounds by making a constitutional interpretation of a state statute. They also argue that the Supreme Court ignored a more reasonable interpretation of the ordinance and thereby violated the Fifth Amendment.
Rights to light are a type of easement that gives a property the right to receive natural sunlight into apertures in buildings – usually windows. These rights are usually created expressly by deed, but they can be implied as well. It is important to carry out proper due diligence before a development takes place to establish any existing rights and what, if anything, could have been lost.
A specialist surveyor is often required to model the impact of a new building on existing rights. This may involve historic research as it is common for older buildings to have a number of different apertures, some of which have been closed or replaced with others over the years.
It is not uncommon for older buildings to have a mix of express and implied rights that are exercisable by different parties. It is therefore crucial to work with an experienced specialist surveyor when attempting to resolve rights to light issues as they can have a significant effect on the value of a property.
Aside from the injunction that can be sought against an actionable infringement of rights to light, the owner of an impacted building may be entitled to compensation at common law. However, the courts have yet to opine on the measure of such damages, which can lead to considerable uncertainty for developers wishing to proceed with developments within the city centre.