Slaughter-House Cases

Slaughter-House Cases, 83 U.S. (16 Wall.) 36 (1873), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court.

Louisiana granted a monopoly on slaughterhouse operations in New Orleans to a single corporation. Competing butchers sued, arguing that the law created involuntary servitude and deprived them of their right to practice their trade, in violation of the newly ratified Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Significance

Justice Miller’s 5-4 opinion gave the first major interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Privileges or Immunities Clause. The Court drew a distinction between U.S. citizenship and state citizenship, holding that the privileges and immunities of U.S. citizenship were limited to a narrow set of rights (such as the right to petition Congress). Most fundamental rights remained under state protection. This narrow interpretation effectively read the Privileges or Immunities Clause out of the Constitution, a ruling that has never been overturned and continues to shape constitutional law.

Category

US Federal Case Law