West LYNN Creamery, Inc., et al. v. Jonathan Healy, Commissioner of Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture (512 U.S. 186)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 17, 1994 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 512 U.S. 186 · 114 S. Ct. 2205
- Decided
- June 17, 1994
- Term
- October Term 1993
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority author
- Justice Stevens
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
- Constitutional ruling
- State/territorial law held unconstitutional
Opinion excerpt
Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court. A Massachusetts pricing order imposes an assessment on all fluid milk sold by dealers to Massachusetts retailers. About two-thirds of that milk is produced out of State. The entire assessment, however, is distributed to Massachusetts dairy farmers. The question presented is whether the pricing order unconstitutionally discriminates against interstate commerce. We hold that it does. I Petitioner West Lynn Creamery, Inc., is a milk dealer licensed to do business in Massachusetts. It purchases raw milk, which it processes, packages, and sells to wholesalers, retailers, and other milk dealers. About 97% of the raw milk it purchases is produced by out-of-state farmers. Petitioner LeComte’s Dairy, Inc., is also a licensed Massachusetts milk dealer. It purchases all of its milk from West Lynn and distributes it to retail outlets in Massachusetts. Since 1937, the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act, 50 Stat. 246, as amended, 7 U. S. C. § 601 et seq., has authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to regulate the minimum prices paid to producers of raw milk by issuing marketing orders for particular geographic areas. While the Federal Government sets minimum prices based on local conditions, those prices have not been so high as to prevent substantial competition among producers in different States. In the 1980’s and early 1990’s,…
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