Law essay on Lochner vs New York.

Lochner v. New York 198 U.S. 45 (1905) "Error to the County Court of Oneida County, State of New York." This case deals with the Fourteenth Amendment where the general right to make a contract in relation to a business is protected. This includes the right to purchase and sell labor, except as controlled by the State in the legitimate exercise of its police power. The indictment in this case stated that the defendant, "wrongfully and unlawfully …

…people believe and judges state that their rulings have previous existence. That means that their was other cases in the past that had a similar topic and controversy that the ruling was not to the letter of the law, but interpreted by the judge in order to make a precise ruling that applies to the case at hand. When the article talks of Precedents, it defines it as manipulation of the language of former decisions.