The Slaughter-House Cases, represented a block appeal to the United States Supreme Court testing the relatively new Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. It is viewed as a pivotal case in early civil rights law, as it narrowly read the Fourteenth Amendment to protect only "privileges and immunities" conferred by virtue of national, not state, citizenship, a distinction which persists to this day.

Properly known as In Re Slaughter-House Cases, the decision consolidated three similar cases:

1. The Butchers' Benevolent Association of New Orleans v. The Crescent City Live-Stock Landing and Slaughter-House Company
2. Paul Esteben, L. Ruch, J. P. Rouede, W. Maylie, S. Firmberg, B. Beaubay, William Fagan, J. D. Broderick, N. Seibel, M. Lannes, J. Gitzinger, J. P. Aycock, D. Verges, The Live-Stock Dealers' and Butchers' Association of New Orleans, and Charles Cavaroc v. The State of Louisiana, ex rel. S. Belden, Attorney-General
3. The Butchers' Benevolent Association of New Orleans v. The Crescent City Live-Stock Landing and Slaughter-House Company

In 1869, the Louisiana legislature passed a law that allowed the city of New Orleans to create a corporation that centralized all slaughterhouse operations in the city. The purpose of the new arrangement was to restrict the dumping of remains and waste in waterways and provide a single place for animals to be kept and slaughtered. There were a number of provisions in the act creating the company, the pertinent being:

• a schedule of prices for the offloading and maintenance of livestock
• a schedule of prices for butchers who want to use the facilities
• a clause describing the process of collecting unpaid monies
• provide for a livestock inspector to ascertain animal health and fitness

Some 100 persons involved in the unloading, feeding, slaughtering, and other activities associated with converting livestock into food filed various actions attempting to halt the creation of the new corporation and any contemplated changes to the slaughtering business in New Orleans.

The lower courts found in favor of the new corporation in all cases. Some five cases were appealed to the Supreme Court. The butchers based their claims on the due process, privileges and immunities and equal protection clauses in the new amendment. Their attorney, former Supreme Court Justice John A. Campbell (who had retired due to his Confederate loyalties), argued for a new, broad reading of the Fourteenth Amendment: the new Amendment protected the rights of business corporations, as well as the freed slaves, he argued.

In a five-four decision issued on April 14, 1873, the court held to a narrow interpretation of the amendment and ruled that it did not restrict the 'police powers' of the state. The court held that the Fourteenth Amendment Privileges and Immunities clause only affected rights of "national citizenship", and not state citizenship. The court further held that the amendment was primarily intended to protect former slaves, and so could not be broadly applied.

Justice Stephen J. Field, joined by three other justices, wrote an influential dissent, in which he accepted Campbell's reading the amendment as not confined to protection of freed slaves, but rather as embracing the common law presumption in favor of an individual right to pursue a legitimate occupation. Field's reading of the amendment would prevail in future cases, in which the court read the amendment broadly to protect property interests against hostile state laws.

This case is also referred to in some conspiracy theories involving the extension of government powers. This is because it is one of the first decisions in which the courts opinion discussed a form of dual citizenship: State Citizens and U.S. Citizens.

Further reading

• Ronald Labbe; "Regulation, Reconstruction, and the Fourteenth Amendment"; 2003, University Press of Kansas, ISBN 0700612904.

See also

• List of United States Supreme Court Cases

External links

• Full text of the decision courtesy of FindLaw.