Over three years ago, I posted about Louisiana’s attempt to prevent the monks of Saint Joseph Abbey from making and selling handmade caskets. Their products were of fine craftsmanship and durability, and so sought-after. Despite the quality of their work, Louisiana insisted that only a state-licensed funeral director could sell caskets, and that it was a crime for the monks to do so.
This year, a federal appellate court (the Fifth Circuit) overturned Louisiana’s regulatory requirement, and now the United States Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from Louisiana. This assures that the lower court decision will stand, and so the abbey has, at last, its long-sought vindication.
See, from 2010, Institute for Justice: Free the Monks and Free Enterprise.
(Licensing requirements like this have the obvious consequence of protecting incumbent manufacturers or sellers from competitors who, despite the quality of their products, find themselves denied licenses or burdened with heavy regulatory fees.)
I’ve republished a video from the Institute for Justice, a non-profit law firm that represented the monks, and also the IJ’s latest press release about their win.
A case like this isn’t just important for Louisiana, or Saint Joseph Abbey, or the abbey’s customers. It’s encouraging for small and independent artisans from one side of the country to another, who’d like a chance to offer good and valued products to willing, satisfied purchasers.
Arlington, Va.—Today, the Benedictine monks of Saint Joseph Abbey won the final battle of their five-year confrontation with the State of Louisiana when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the petition of the Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors seeking to overturn the brothers’ landmark constitutional victory. In March, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Louisiana’s law requiring a funeral director’s license to sell a casket, affirming the constitutional right to earn an honest living without unreasonable government interference.
This case arose when the brothers of Saint Joseph Abbey, a century-old Benedictine monastery in Covington, La., began to sell their handmade caskets in late 2007 to support the monks’ educational and healthcare expenses. The Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors moved to shut down the fledgling business before it sold even one casket because it was a crime in Louisiana for anyone but a government-licensed funeral director to sell caskets to the public. The monks brought suit in federal court on the ground that this arbitrary restriction served no legitimate public purpose and existed only to funnel money to the funeral-director cartel.
“The U.S. Supreme Court’s denial of review puts the final nail in the coffin for the state board’s protectionist and outrageous campaign against the monks,” said Institute for Justice Senior Attorney Scott Bullock. “The Abbey’s victory in this case will not only protect their right to sell caskets, but the rights of entrepreneurs throughout the country.”
The monks’ victory is one of only a handful of cases since the 1930s in which federal courts have enforced the constitutional right to economic liberty.
Abbot Justin Brown, who heads the monastic community said, “Today is a good day for us at the Abbey. Knowing that not only has our economic liberty been protected forever, but that we also helped secure the same rights for others makes this years-long battle worth it.”
“Back in March, the 5th Circuit rejected economic protectionism as a legitimate state interest,” explained Jeff Rowes, an IJ senior attorney. “With the Supreme Court’s denial of the funeral board’s appeal, the 5th Circuit’s ruling becomes final.”
“The government cannot require individuals to go through onerous licensing requirements just to sell a box,” said IJ Attorney Darpana Sheth. “This victory opens the door to strike down other irrational licensing restrictions that really serve to protect industry insiders.”
“Arbitrary licensing laws crush the dreams of countless aspiring entrepreneurs across the nation,” said Institute President and General Counsel William Mellor. “This precedent gives them hope that the day will soon come when government no longer stands in the way of honest enterprise.”
Read the Fifth Circuit Decision:
http://iam.ij.org/LACasketsDecision.