Supreme Court's WORST NIGHTMARE is Here as Their DISASTER Unravels

14th Amendment

The Fourteenth Amendment addresses many aspects of citizenship and the rights of citizens. The most commonly used -- and frequently litigated -- phrase in the amendment is "equal protection of the laws", which figures prominently in a wide variety of landmark cases, including Brown v. Board of Education (racial discrimination), Roe v. Wade (reproductive rights), Bush v. Gore (election recounts), Reed v. Reed (gender discrimination), and University of California v. Bakke (racial quotas in education). See more...

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Amendment XIV

Section 1.

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Section 2.

Representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the executive and judicial officers of a state, or the members of the legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such state.

Section 3.

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Section 4.

The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any state shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Section 5.

The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

The Slaughter-House Cases

The Slaughter-House Cases were a significant U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1873 that ruled the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment only protects rights associated with federal citizenship, not state citizenship. This case arose from a Louisiana law that granted a monopoly to a single slaughterhouse company, which butchers argued violated their rights to practice their trade. Wikipedia Justia

Overview of the Slaughter-House Cases

The Slaughter-House Cases refer to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision from 1873. The case involved the Butchers' Benevolent Association of New Orleans and the Crescent City Live-Stock Landing and Slaughter-House Company. The main issue was whether a Louisiana law that granted a monopoly to the slaughterhouse company violated the Fourteenth Amendment.

Key Details

Case Background

• Date Argued: January 11, 1872; Reargued February 3-5, 1873
• Decision Date: April 14, 1873
• Court's Holding: The Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects only rights associated with federal citizenship, not state citizenship.

Legal Implications

• The Supreme Court ruled that the Louisiana legislature's actions were constitutional. The law aimed to improve public health by centralizing slaughterhouse operations to reduce contamination of the water supply.
• The Court's decision limited the scope of the Fourteenth Amendment, stating it did not restrict state police powers.

Dissenting Opinions

• Some justices argued that the law effectively deprived butchers of their right to earn a living, which could be seen as a violation of their rights under the Thirteenth Amendment.

Significance

The Slaughter-House Cases set a precedent for interpreting the Fourteenth Amendment, emphasizing the distinction between federal and state citizenship rights. This ruling has influenced subsequent cases regarding civil rights and the scope of state powers.