New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann
Encyclopedia
New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann, 285 U.S. 262
(1932), was a case
in which the Supreme Court of the United States
held that due process
prevented a state legislature from arbitrarily creating restrictions on new businesses only on the claim that their markets affected a public use.
The New State Ice Company had brought suit against Liebmann to prevent him from selling ice without a license. The lower courts had relied on Frost v. Corporation Commission in reaching their conclusion that a license is not necessary where existing businesses are "sufficient to meet the public needs therein". The Supreme Court distinguished Frost as concerned with businesses that grind grain, a public interest key to feeding the population that is not comparable to the ice market.
Justice Brandeis dissented from the court's opinion, saying that federalism
allows that "a single courageous State may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country..."
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(1932), was a case
Legal case
A legal case is a dispute between opposing parties resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal process. A legal case may be either civil or criminal...
in which the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
held that due process
Due process
Due process is the legal code that the state must venerate all of the legal rights that are owed to a person under the principle. Due process balances the power of the state law of the land and thus protects individual persons from it...
prevented a state legislature from arbitrarily creating restrictions on new businesses only on the claim that their markets affected a public use.
The New State Ice Company had brought suit against Liebmann to prevent him from selling ice without a license. The lower courts had relied on Frost v. Corporation Commission in reaching their conclusion that a license is not necessary where existing businesses are "sufficient to meet the public needs therein". The Supreme Court distinguished Frost as concerned with businesses that grind grain, a public interest key to feeding the population that is not comparable to the ice market.
Justice Brandeis dissented from the court's opinion, saying that federalism
Federalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
allows that "a single courageous State may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country..."