Opinion

Reynolds v. Louisiana Board of Alcoholic Beverage Control

  • 249 La. 127
  • 185 So. 2d 794
  • 1966 La. LEXIS 2483
Court
Supreme Court of Louisiana
Filed
Apr 1, 1966
Status
Published
Author
Sanders
On the bench
McCaleb, Hamiter, Summers, Sanders, Hawtpiorne, Hamlin
Cited by
13 cases
Authority
More cited than 8.2%

The opinion

SANDERS, Justice

(dissenting).

I can see no substantial difference between Act 290 of 1964 and the 1948 statute that this Court struck down in Schwegmann Brothers v. Louisiana Board of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 216 La. 148 , 43 So.2d 248 , 14 A.L.R.2d 680 (1949). Nor can I find any significant change in the basic economic factors since that decision. Hence, in my opinion, the previous decision requires that the present statute be declared unconstitutional.

The statute has no real or substantial relation to temperance in the use of alcoholic beverages. Rather, it is designed to eliminate price competition in the market by fixing a minimum price. The statute simply chops away another section of our free enterprise system. As Justice Brandéis aptly warned, “No system of regulation can safely be substituted for the operation of individual liberty as expressed in competition.”

I respectfully dissent.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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