Lochner v. New York · ¶34

I take it to be firmly established that what is called the liberty of contract may, within certain limits, be subjected to regulations designed and calculated to promote the general welfare or to guard the public health, the public morals or the public safety. t “The liberty secured by the Constitution of the United States to every person within its jurisdiction does not import,” this court has recently said, “an absolute right in each person to be, at all times and in all circumstances, wholly freed from restraint. There are manifold restraints to which every person is necessarily subject for the common good.” Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U. S. 11.

U. S. Reports, bound volume
U. S. Reports, volume 198, at 45 (Library of Congress) · transcription: Caselaw Access Project
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