Carter v. Carter Coal Co.

Background:

298 U.S. 238 (1936), argued 11, 12 Mar. 1936, decided 18 Mar. 1936 by vote of 5 to 4; Sutherland for the Court, Cardozo, Brandeis, and Stone in dissent, Hughes dissenting in part. The Carter case arose in the vortex of controversy surrounding President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal efforts to curb the disastrous effects of the Depression. The critical issue before the Court involved competing visions of federalism and the appropriate allocation of power between state and federal government. Much New Deal legislation was premised on the belief that the commerce power granted Congress extensive authority to regulate labor relations, commercial activities, agriculture, and the like. The idea was diametrically opposed to the vision of the commerce power embraced by a majority of the Supreme Court. The Carter decision was viewed by many as yet another example of Court intransigence that led ultimately to Roosevelt's unsuccessful court-packing plan.

The Bituminous Coal Conservation Act of 1935 sought to stem overproduction and ruinous competition. Wages were so appalling in the coal industry that labor unrest and strikes, sometimes accompanied by violence, had become endemic. The act created local boards to set minimum prices for coal and also provided for collective bargaining to achieve acceptable wage and hour agreements. Congress based its authority for the law squarely on its ability to regulate interstate commerce.