Ferguson v. Skrupa, 372 U.S. 726 (1963). · Go Syfert
Ferguson v. Skrupa, 372 U.S. 726 (1963). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
2,891 citation events (486 in the last 25 years) across 187 distinct courts.
Strongest positive: People v. Watkins-Romaine (ill, 2025-01-24) · Strongest negative: Scheinberg v. Smith (ca5, 1981-10-02)
Treatment trajectory · 1963 → 2026 · click a year to view as-of
1963 1994 2026
Top citers, strongest first. 50 distinct citers. How cited ↗
examined Cited "but see" Scheinberg v. Smith (3×)
5th Cir. · 1981 · signal: but see · confidence high
But see Ferguson v. Skrupa, 372 U.S. 726, 730 , 83 S.Ct. 1028, 1031 , 10 L.Ed.2d 93 (1963).
examined Cited "but see" Scheinberg v. Smith (3×)
5th Cir. · 1981 · signal: but see · confidence high
But see Ferguson v. Skrupa, 372 U.S. 726, 730 , 83 S.Ct. 1028, 1031 , 10 L.Ed.2d 93 (1963).
examined Cited "but see" Petrey v. Flaugher (3×)
E.D. Ky. · 1981 · signal: but see · confidence high
But see Ferguson v. Skrupa, 372 U.S. 726 , 83 S.Ct. 1028 , 10 L.Ed.2d 93 (1963); Williamson v. Lee Optical, 348 U.S. 483, 487-8 , 75 S.Ct. 461, 464 , 99 L.Ed. 563 (1955); Day-Brite Lighting, Inc. v. Missouri, 342 U.S. 421 , 72 S.Ct. 405 , 96 L.Ed. 469 (1952).
discussed Cited as authority (verbatim quote) People v. Watkins-Romaine
Ill. · 2025 · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence high
ourts do not substitute their social and economic beliefs for the judgment of legislative bodies, who are elected to pass laws.
discussed Cited as authority (verbatim quote) Black Political Empowerment Project v. A. Schmidt
Pa. Commw. Ct. · 2024 · signal: see also · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence high
courts do not substitute their social and economic beliefs for the judgment of legislative bodies, are elected to pass laws.
discussed Cited as authority (verbatim quote) Urban Prep Academies v. Board of Education of Chicago School District 299
Ill. App. Ct. · 2024 · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence high
ourts do not substitute their social and economic beliefs for the judgment of legislative bodies, who are elected to pass laws.
discussed Cited as authority (verbatim quote) THE MECHANICAL CONTRACTORS ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY, INC. v. STATE OF NEW JERSEY
D.N.J. · 2021 · signal: see also · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence high
legislative bodies have broad scope to experiment with economic problems.
examined Cited as authority (verbatim quote) Nick Coons v. Jacob Lew
9th Cir. · 2014 · signal: see · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence high
the doctrine that prevailed in lochner, coppage, adkins, burns, and like cases-that due process authorizes courts to hold laws unconstitutional when they believe the legislature has acted unwisely-has long since been discarded.
examined Cited as authority (verbatim quote) Fresnius Medical Care Holdings, Inc. v. Elisabeth Tucker, M.D. (2×) also: Cited as authority (quoted)
11th Cir. · 2013 · signal: see also · quote attribution · 2 verbatim quotes · confidence high
t is up to legislatures, not courts, to decide on the wisdom and utility of legislation.
examined Cited as authority (verbatim quote) Fresnius Medical Care Holdings, Inc. v. Elisabeth Tucker, M.D. (4×) also: Cited as authority (quoted)
11th Cir. · 2013 · signal: see also · quote attribution · 4 verbatim quotes · confidence high
t is up to legislatures, not courts, to decide on the wisdom and utility of legislation.
examined Cited as authority (verbatim quote) Adrian Garcia in His Official Capacity as the Harris County Sheriff, and Greg Abbott, in His Capacity as the Attorney General of Texas v. Felix Michael Kubosh, Carl R. Pruett, and Daisy Howard (2×) also: Cited as authority (quoted)
Tex. App. · 2012 · signal: see, e.g. · quote attribution · 2 verbatim quotes · confidence high
hat due process authorizes courts to hold laws unconstitutional when they believe the legislature has acted unwisely has long since been discarded.
examined Cited as authority (verbatim quote) State of Florida v. U.S. Department of HHS
11th Cir. · 2011 · signal: see, e.g. · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence high
the doctrine that prevailed in lochner . . . and like cases -- that due process authorizes courts to hold laws unconstitutional when they believe the legislature has acted unwisely -- has long since been discarded.
examined Cited as authority (verbatim quote) Rousso v. State (4×) also: Cited as authority (quoted)
Wash. · 2010 · quote attribution · 4 verbatim quotes · confidence high
under the system of government created by our constitution, it is up to legislatures, not courts, to decide on the wisdom and utility of legislation.
examined Cited as authority (verbatim quote) Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce v. Pappas (3×) also: Cited as authority (quoted)
Ill. App. Ct. · 2007 · quote attribution · 3 verbatim quotes · confidence high
it is only 'invidious discrimination' which offends the constitution
discussed Cited as authority (verbatim quote) deLeiris Ex Rel. deLeiris v. Scott
D.R.I. · 1986 · signal: see · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence high
relief sought nominally against an officer is in fact against the sovereign if the decree would operate against the latter
discussed Cited as authority (quoted) State of Texas v. Trump
5th Cir. · 2025 · signal: see, e.g. · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence low
we deploy no economic theory of social statics or draw upon a judicial vision of free enterprise.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Chong Yim v. City of Seattle (2×)
Wash. · 2019 · quote attribution · 2 verbatim quotes · confidence low
ur precedent has routinely applied as a rational basis rule for substantive due process and equal protection challenges to municipal ordinances.
discussed Cited as authority (quoted) Estate of Kelly M Bowman v. St John Hospital and Medical Center (2×) also: Cited "see, e.g."
Mich. Ct. App. · 2019 · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence low
we refuse to sit as a 'superlegislature to weigh the wisdom of legislation.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Pac. Coast Horseshoeing Sch., Inc. v. Grafilo (3×)
E.D. Cal. · 2018 · quote attribution · 3 verbatim quotes · confidence low
t is up to legislatures, not courts, to decide on the wisdom and utility of legislation.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Natu Bah v. Attorney General of the State of Tenn. (3×)
6th Cir. · 2015 · signal: see · quote attribution · 3 verbatim quotes · confidence high
we are not concerned with the wisdom, need, or appropriateness of the legislation.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Austin Apartment Ass'n v. City of Austin (2×)
W.D. Tex. · 2015 · quote attribution · 2 verbatim quotes · confidence low
we have returned to the original constitutional proposition that courts do not substitute their social and economic beliefs for the judgment of legislative bodies, who are elected to pass laws.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Energy & Environment Legal Institute v. Epel (3×)
D. Colo. · 2014 · quote attribution · 3 verbatim quotes · confidence low
t is up to legislatures, not courts, to decide on the wisdom and utility of legislation.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Heffner v. Murphy (4×) also: Cited "see"
3rd Cir. · 2014 · signal: see · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence high
t is up to legislatures, not courts, to decide on the wisdom and utility of legislation.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) U.S. Citizens Association v. Kathleen Sebeliux (3×)
6th Cir. · 2013 · signal: see · quote attribution · 3 verbatim quotes · confidence high
the doctrine that prevailed in lo-chner ...-that due process authorizes courts to hold laws unconstitutional when they believe the legislature has acted unwisely-has long since been discarded.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Fresenius Medical Care Holdings, Inc. v. Tucker (3×)
11th Cir. · 2013 · signal: see also · quote attribution · 3 verbatim quotes · confidence low
t is up to legislatures, not courts, to decide on the wisdom and utility of legislation.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Garcia v. Kubosh (2×)
Tex. App. · 2012 · signal: see, e.g. · quote attribution · 2 verbatim quotes · confidence low
hat due process authorizes courts to hold laws unconstitutional when they believe the legislature has acted unwisely has long since been discarded.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Florida Ex Rel. Attorney General v. United States Department of Health & Human Services (6×)
11th Cir. · 2011 · signal: see, e.g. · quote attribution · 6 verbatim quotes · confidence low
the doctrine that prevailed in lochner ... and like cases - that due process authorizes courts to hold laws unconstitutional when they believe the legislature has acted unwisely - has long since been discarded.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) PHYSICIAN HOSPITALS OF AMERICA v. Sebelius (3×)
E.D. Tex. · 2011 · quote attribution · 3 verbatim quotes · confidence low
the doctrine that ... due process authorizes courts to hold laws unconstitutional when they believe the legislature has acted unwisely ... has long been discarded.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Northwest Animal Rights Network v. State (3×)
Wash. Ct. App. · 2010 · quote attribution · 3 verbatim quotes · confidence low
under the system of government created by our constitution, it is up to legislatures, not courts, to decide on the wisdom and utility of legislation.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Northwest Animal Rights Network v. State (2×)
Wash. Ct. App. · 2010 · quote attribution · 2 verbatim quotes · confidence low
under the system of government created by our constitution, it is up to legislatures, not courts, to decide on the wisdom and utility of legislation.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Northwest Animal Rights Network v. State (2×)
Wash. Ct. App. · 2010 · quote attribution · 2 verbatim quotes · confidence low
under the system of government created by our constitution, it is up to legislatures, not courts, to decide on the wisdom and utility of legislation.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce v. Pappas (3×) also: Cited as authority (rule)
Ill. App. Ct. · 2007 · signal: see also · quote attribution · 2 verbatim quotes · confidence low
it is only 'invidious discrimination' which offends the constitution
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Sonnier v. Quarterman (3×)
5th Cir. · 2007 · signal: see also · quote attribution · 3 verbatim quotes · confidence low
under the system of government created by our constitution, it is up to the legislatures, not the courts, to decide on the wisdom and utility of legislation.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Sonnier v. Quarterman (3×)
5th Cir. · 2007 · signal: see also · quote attribution · 3 verbatim quotes · confidence low
under the system of government created by our constitution, it is up to the legislatures, not the courts, to decide on the wisdom and utility of legislation.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Powers v. Harris (6×)
10th Cir. · 2004 · quote attribution · 6 verbatim quotes · confidence low
if the state of kansas wants to limit debt adjusting to lawyers, the equal protection clause does not forbid it.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Dimartino v. Richens (3×)
Conn. · 2003 · quote attribution · 3 verbatim quotes · confidence low
it is only 'invidious discrimination' which offends the constitution
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Star Scientific, Inc. v. Beales (5×) also: Cited "see"
4th Cir. · 2002 · signal: see also · quote attribution · 3 verbatim quotes · confidence low
we have returned to the original constitutional proposition that courts do not substitute their social and economic beliefs for the judgment of legislative bodies, who are elected to pass laws
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Star Scientific, Inc. v. Beales (5×) also: Cited "see"
4th Cir. · 2002 · signal: see also · quote attribution · 3 verbatim quotes · confidence low
we have returned to the original constitutional proposition that courts do not substitute their social and economic beliefs for the judgment of legislative bodies, who are elected to pass laws
examined Cited as authority (quoted) N & N Catering Co., Inc. v. City of Chicago (3×)
N.D. Ill. · 1999 · signal: cf. · quote attribution · 3 verbatim quotes · confidence low
the doctrine that ... due process authorizes courts to hold laws unconstitutional when they believe the legislature has acted unwisely ... has long since been discarded.
discussed Cited as authority (quoted) Conde v. Starlight I, Inc.
1st Cir. · 1997 · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence low
debt adjuster
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Conde v. Starlight I, Inc. (3×)
1st Cir. · 1997 · quote attribution · 3 verbatim quotes · confidence low
debt adjuster
examined Cited as authority (quoted) United States v. Defabian Shannon (6×)
7th Cir. · 1996 · quote attribution · 6 verbatim quotes · confidence low
under the system of government created by our constitution, it is up to legislatures, not courts, to decide on the wisdom and utility of legislation.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Norfolk Bus. Dist. v. HUD (3×)
E.D. Va. · 1996 · signal: see · quote attribution · 3 verbatim quotes · confidence high
the doctrine that ... due process authorizes courts to hold laws unconstitutional when they believe the legislature has acted unwisely ... has long since been discarded.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Norfolk Federation of Business Districts v. Department of Housing & Urban Development (3×)
E.D. Va. · 1996 · signal: see · quote attribution · 3 verbatim quotes · confidence high
the doctrine that ... due process authorizes courts to hold laws unconstitutional when they believe the legislature has acted unwisely ... has long since been discarded.
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Lincoln Cercpac v. Health and Hospitals Corp. (3×)
S.D.N.Y. · 1996 · signal: see, e.g. · quote attribution · 3 verbatim quotes · confidence low
legislative bodies have broad scope to experiment with economic problems, and this court does not sit to 'subject the state to intolerable supervision____
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Long Island Lighting Co. v. Cuomo (3×) also: Cited "see, e.g."
N.D.N.Y. · 1987 · signal: see, e.g. · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence low
we have returned to the original constitutional proposition that 406 courts do not substitute their social and economic beliefs for the judgment of legislative bodies, who are elected to pass laws.... legislative bodies have broad scope to experiment with economic problems ....
examined Cited as authority (quoted) Tirolerland, Inc. v. Lake Placid 1980 Olympic Games, Inc. (3×)
N.D.N.Y. · 1984 · quote attribution · 3 verbatim quotes · confidence low
we refuse to sit as a 'superlegislature to weigh the wisdom of legislation'____ whether the legislature takes for its textbook adam smith, herbert spencer, lord keynes or some other is no concern of ours
cited Cited as authority (rule) LECO PROPERTIES LLC v. CITY OF KAPLAN, ET AL.
W.D. La. · 2026 · confidence medium
Exxon Corp. v. Governor of Maryland, 437 U.S. 117, 124 (1978), citing Ferguson v. Skrupa, 372 U.S. 726, 731 (1963).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. v. Kennedy
1st Cir. · 2025 · confidence medium
Questions on the "wisdom and utility" of legislation are left exclusively to Congress, so long as these questions are "at least debatable." Minnesota v. Clover Leaf Creamery Co., 449 U.S. 456, 469 (1981) (first quoting Ferguson v. Skrupa, 372 U.S. 726, 729 (1963); and then quoting United States v. Carolene Products Co., 304 U.S. 144, 154 (1938)). - 40 - The "Constitution presumes that, absent some reason to infer antipathy, even improvident decisions will eventually be rectified by the democratic process and that judicial intervention is generally unwarranted no matter how unwisely we may thin…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) Derek Eisenberg v. Dr. Kristopher Sanchez, et al. (2×)
D. Nev. · 2025 · confidence medium
Expense Bd., 527 U.S. 666, 691 (1999) 12 (“We had always thought that the distinctive feature of Lochner, nicely captured in Justice Holmes’s dissenting remark about “Mr. Herbert Spencer’s Social Statics,” . . . was that it sought 13 to impose a particular economic philosophy upon the Constitution.”); Ferguson v. Skrupa, 372 U.S. 726, 730 (1963) (“The doctrine that prevailed in Lochner [and its progeny]—that due 14 process authorizes courts to hold laws unconstitutional when they believe the legislature has acted unwisely—has long since been discarded.
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
FERGUSON, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF KANSAS, Et Al.
v.
SKRUPA, Doing Business as CREDIT ADVISORS
111.
Supreme Court of the United States.
Apr 22, 1963.
372 U.S. 726
William M. Ferguson, Attorney General of Kansas, argued the cause and filed a brief for appellants. Keith Sanborn and John F. Eberhardt filed a brief for appellant Sanborn., Lawrence Weigand argued the cause for appellee. With him on the brief was Donald A. Bell., Wilkie Bushby and Joseph Schreiber filed a brief for the National Better Business Bureau, Inc., as amicus curiae, urging reversal.
Black, Optical.
Cited by 1,024 opinions  |  Published
22 passages pin-cited by 37 cases
Pinpoint authority: #2,141 of 633,719
Citer courts: Eleventh Circuit (11) · Fifth Circuit (7) · Court of Appeals of Washington (7) · Tenth Circuit (6) · Fourth Circuit (6) · Sixth Circuit (6) · Seventh Circuit (6)
Mr. Justice Black

delivered the opinion of the Court.

In this case, properly here on appeal under 28 U. S. C. § 1253, we are asked to review the judgment of a three-judge District Court enjoining, as being in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, a Kansas statute making it a misdemeanor for any person to engage “in the business of debt adjusting” except as[*727] an incident to “the lawful practice of law in this state.” [1] The statute defines “debt adjusting” as “the making of a contract, express, or implied with a particular debtor whereby the debtor agrees to pay a certain amount of money periodically to the person engaged in the debt adjusting business who shall for a consideration distribute the same among certain specified creditors in accordance with a plan agreed upon.”

The complaint, filed by appellee Skrupa doing business as “Credit Advisors,” alleged that Skrupa was engaged in the business of “debt adjusting” as defined by the statute, that his business was a “useful and desirable” one, that his business activities were not “inherently immoral or dangerous” or in any way contrary to the public welfare, and that therefore the business could not be “absolutely prohibited” by Kansas. The three-judge court heard evidence by Skrupa tending to show the usefulness and desirability of his business and evidence by the state officials tending to show that “debt adjusting” lends itself to grave abuses against distressed debtors, particularly in the lower income brackets, and that these abuses are of such gravity that a number of States have strictly regulated “debt adjusting” or prohibited it altogether. [2] The[*728] court found that Skrupa’s business did fall within the Act’s proscription and concluded, one judge dissenting, that the Act was prohibitory, not regulatory, but that even if construed in part as regulatory it was an unreasonable regulation of a “lawful business,” which the court held amounted to a violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The court accordingly enjoined enforcement of the statute. [3]

The only case discussed by the court below as support for its invalidation of the statute was Commonwealth v. Stone, 191 Pa. Super. 117, 155 A. 2d 453 (1959), in which the Superior Court of Pennsylvania struck down a statute almost identical to the Kansas act involved here. In Stone the Pennsylvania court held that the State could regulate, but could not prohibit, a “legitimate” business. Finding debt adjusting, called “budget planning” in the Pennsylvania statute, not to be “against the public interest” and concluding that it could “see no justification for such interference” with this business, the Pennsylvania court ruled that State’s statute to be unconstitutional. In doing so, the Pennsylvania court relied heavily on Adams v. Tanner, 244 U. S. 590 (1917), which held that the Due Process Clause forbids a State to prohibit a business which is “useful” and not “inherently immoral or dangerous to public welfare.”

Both the District Court in the present case and the Pennsylvania court in Stone adopted the philosophy of Adams v. Tanner, and cases like it, that it is the province of courts to draw on their own views as to the morality,[*729] legitimacy, and usefulness of a particular business in order to decide whether a statute bears too heavily upon that business and by so doing violates due process. Under the system of government created by our Constitution, it is up to legislatures, not courts, to decide on the wisdom and utility of legislation. There was a time when the Due Process Clause was used by this Court to strike down laws which were thought unreasonable, that is, unwise or incompatible with some particular economic or social philosophy. In this manner the Due Process Clause was used, for example, to nullify laws prescribing maximum hours for work in bakeries, Lochner v. New York, 198 U. S. 45 (1905), outlawing “yellow dog” contracts, Coppage v. Kansas, 236 U. S. 1 (1915), setting minimum wages for women, Adkins v. Children’s Hospital, 261 U. S. 525 (1923), and fixing the weight of loaves of bread, Jay Burns Baking Co. v. Bryan, 264 U. S. 504 (1924). This intrusion by the judiciary into the realm of legislative value judgments was strongly objected to at the time, particularly by Mr. Justice Holmes and Mr. Justice Brandéis. Dissenting from the Court’s invalidating a state statute which regulated the resale price of theatre and other tickets, Mr. Justice Holmes said,[*730] And in an earlier case he had emphasized that, “The criterion of constitutionality is not whether we believe the law to be for thé public good.” [5]

[*729] “I think the proper course is to recognize that a state legislature can do whatever it sees fit to do unless it is restrained by some express prohibition in the Constitution of the United States or of the State, and that Courts should be careful not to extend such prohibitions beyond their obvious meaning by reading into them conceptions of public policy that the particular Court may happen to entertain.” [4]

[*730] The doctrine that prevailed in Lochner, Coppage, Adkins, Burns, and like cases — that due process authorizes courts to hold laws unconstitutional when they believe the legislature has acted unwisely- — -has long since been discarded. We have returned to the original constitutional proposition that courts do not substitute their social and economic beliefs for the judgment of legislative bodies, who are elected to pass laws. As this Court stated in a unanimous opinion in 1941, “We are not concerned . . . with the wisdom, need, or appropriateness of the legislation.” [6] Legislative bodies have broad scope to experiment with economic problems, and this Court does not sit to “subject the State to an intolerable supervision hostile to the basic principles of our Government and wholly beyond the protection which the general clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was intended to secure.” [7] It is now settled that States “have power to legislate against what are found to be injurious practices in their internal commercial and business affairs, so long as their laws do[*731] not run afoul of some specific federal constitutional prohibition, or of some valid federal law.” [8]

In the face of our abandonment of the use of the “vague contours” [9] of the Due Process Clause to nullify laws which a majority of the Court believed to be economically unwise, reliance on Adams v. Tanner is as mistaken as would be adherence to Adkins v. Children’s Hospital, overruled by West Coast Hotel Co. v. Parrish, 300 U. S. 379 (1937). Not only has the philosophy of Adams been abandoned, but also this Court almost 15 years ago expressly pointed to another opinion of this Court as having “clearly undermined” Adams. 10 We conclude that the Kansas Legislature was free to decide for itself that legislation was needed to deal with the business of debt adjusting. Unquestionably, there are arguments showing that the business of debt adjusting has social utility, but such arguments are properly addressed to the legislature, not to us. We refuse to sit as a “superlegislature to weigh the wisdom of legislation,” [11] and we emphatically refuse to go back to the time when courts used the Due Process Clause “to strike down state laws, regulatory of business and industrial conditions, because they may be unwise, im[*732] provident, or out of harmony with a particular school of thought.” [12] Nor are we able or willing to draw lines by calling a law “prohibitory” or “regulatory.” Whether the legislature takes for its textbook Adam Smith, Herbert Spencer, Lord Keynes, or some other is no concern of ours. [13] The Kansas debt adjusting statute may be wise or unwise. But relief, if any be needed, lies not with us but with the body constituted to pass laws for the State of Kansas. [14]

Nor is the statute’s exception of lawyers a denial of equal protection of the laws to nonlawyers. Statutes create many classifications which do not deny equal protection; it is only “invidious discrimination” which offends the Constitution. [15] The business of debt adjusting gives rise to a relationship of trust in which the debt adjuster will, in a situation of insolvency, be marshalling assets in the manner of a proceeding in bankruptcy. The debt adjuster’s client may need advice as to the legality of the various claims against him, remedies existing under state laws governing debtor-creditor relationships, or provisions of the Bankruptcy Act — advice which a nonlawyer cannot lawfully give him. If the State of Kansas wants to limit debt adjusting to lawyers, [16] the Equal Protection[*733] Clause does not forbid it. We also find no merit in the contention that the Fourteenth Amendment is violated by the failure of the Kansas statute’s title to be as specific as appellee thinks it ought to be under the Kansas Constitution.

Reversed.

Mr. Justice Harlan concurs in the judgment on the ground that this state measure bears a rational relation to a constitutionally permissible objective. See Williamson v. Lee Optical Co., 348 U. S. 483, 491.
1

Kan. Gen. Stat. (Supp. 1961) §21-2464.

2

Twelve other States have outlawed the business of debt adjusting. Fla. Stat. Ann. (1962) §§ 559.10-559.13; Ga. Code Ann. (Supp. 1961) §§ 84-3601 to 84-3603; Me. Rev. Stat. Ann. (Supp. 1961) c. 137, §§ 51-53; Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. (1958) c. 221, § 46C; N. J. Stat. Ann. (Supp. 1962) 2A:99A-1 to 2A:99A-4; N. Y. Penal Law (Supp. 1962) §§410-412; Ohio Rev. Code Ann. (1962 Supp.) §§ 4710.01— 4710.99; Okla. Stat. Ann. (Supp. 1962) Tit. 24, §§15-18; Pa. Stat. Ann. (Supp. 1961) Tit. 18, §4899; Va. Code Ann. (1958) §54-44.1; W. Va. Code Ann. (1961) §6112(4); Wyo. Stat. Ann. (1957) §§ 33-190 to 33-192. Seven other States regulate debt adjusting. Cal. Fin. Code Ann. (1955 and Supp. 1962) §§ 12200-12331; Ill. Stat. Ann. (Supp. 1962) c. 16½, §§251-272; Mich. Stat. Ann. (Supp. 1961) §§23.630 (1)-23.630 (18); Minn. Stat. Ann. (1947 and 1962[*728] Supp.) §§332.04-332.11; Ore. Rev. Stat. (1961) §§ 697.610-697.992; R. I. Gen. Laws (Supp. 1962) §§5-42-1 to 5-42-9; Wis. Stat. Ann. (1957) § 218.02. The courts of New Jersey have upheld a New Jersey statute like the Kansas statute here in question. American Budget Corp. v. Furman, 67 N. J. Super. 134, 170 A. 2d 63, aff’d per curiam, 36 N. J. 129, 175 A. 2d 622 (1961).

3

Skrupa v. Sanborn, 210 F. Supp. 200 (D. C. D. Kan. 1961).

4

Tyson & Brother v. Banton, 273 U. S. 418, 445, 446 (1927) (dissenting opinion). Mr. Justice Brandéis joined in this dissent, and Mr. Justice Stone dissented in an opinion joined by Mr. Justice Holmes and Mr. Justice Brandéis. Mr. Justice Sanford dissented separately.

5

Adkins v. Children’s Hospital, 261 U. S. 525, 567, 570 (1923) (dissenting opinion). Chief Justice Taft, joined by Mr. Justice Sanford, also dissented. Mr. Justice Brandéis took no part.

6

Olsen v. Nebraska ex rel. Western Reference & Bond Assn., 313 U. S. 236, 246 (1941) (upholding a Nebraska statute limiting the amount of the fee which could be charged by private employment agencies).

7

Sproles v. Binford, 286 U. S. 374, 388 (1932). And Chief Justice Hughes, for a unanimous Court, added, “When the subject lies within the police power of the State, debatable questions as to reasonableness are not for the courts but for the legislature, which is entitled to form its own judgment, and its action within its range of discretion cannot be set aside because compliance is burdensome.” Id., at 388-389.

8

Lincoln Federal Labor Union v. Northwestern Iron & Metal Co., 335 U. S. 525, 536 (1949).

Mr. Justice Holmes even went so far as to say that “subject to compensation when compensation is due, the legislature may forbid or restrict any business when it has a sufficient force of public opinion behind it.” Tyson & Brother v. Banton, 273 U. S. 418, 445, 446 (1927) (dissenting opinion).

9

See Adkins v. Children’s Hospital, 261 U. S. 525, 567, 568 (1923) (Holmes, J., dissenting).

10

Lincoln Federal Labor Union v. Northwestern Iron & Metal Co., 335 U. S. 525, 535 (1949), referring to Olsen v. Nebraska ex rel. Western Reference & Bond Assn., 313 U. S. 236 (1941). Ten years later, in Breard v. Alexandria, 341 U. S. 622, 631-632 (1951), this Court again commented on the infirmity of Adams.

11

Day-Brite Lighting, Inc., v. Missouri, 342 U. S. 421, 423 (1952).

12

Williamson v. Lee Optical Co., 348 U. S. 483, 488 (1955).

13

“The Fourteenth Amendment does not enact Mr. Herbert Spencer’s Social Statics.” Lochner v. New York, 198 U. S. 45, 74, 75 (1905) (Holmes, J., dissenting).

14

See Daniel v. Family Security Life Ins. Co., 336 U. S. 220, 224 (1949); Secretary of Agriculture v. Central Roig Ref. Co., 338 U. S. 604, 618 (1950).

15

See Williamson v. Lee Optical Co., 348 U. S. 483, 488-489 (1955); Lindsley v. Natural Carbonic Gas Co., 220 U. S. 61, 78-79 (1911).

16

Massachusetts and Virginia prohibit debt pooling by laymen by declaring it to constitute the practice of law. Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. (1958) c. 221, § 46C; Va. Code Ann. (1958) §54-44.1. The Massachusetts statute was upheld in Home Budget Service, Inc., v. Boston Bar Assn., 335 Mass. 228, 139 N. E. 2d 387 (1957).