Rehabilitating Lochner

In this timely reevaluation of an infamous Supreme Court decision, David E. Bernstein provides a compelling survey of the history and background ofLochner v. New York. This 1905 decision invalidated state laws limiting work hours and became the leading case contending that novel economic regulations were unconstitutional. Sure to be controversial,Rehabilitating Lochnerargues that the decision was well grounded in precedentand that modern constitutional jurisprudence owes at least as much to the limited-government ideas ofLochnerproponents as to the more expansive vision of its Progressive opponents. Tracing the influence of this decision through subsequent battles over segregation laws, sex discrimination, civil liberties, and more,Rehabilitating Lochnerargues not only that the court acted reasonably inLochner,but thatLochnerand like-minded cases have been widely misunderstood and unfairly maligned ever since.