''Olsen v. Nebraska'', 313 U.S. 236 (1941), was a case in which the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
held that the
Supreme Court of Nebraska
The Nebraska Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Nebraska. The court consists of a chief justice and six associate justices. Each justice is initially appointed by the governor of Nebraska; using the Missouri Plan, each just ...
misapplied the 14th amendment's
Due Process Clause
In United States constitutional law, a Due Process Clause is found in both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, which prohibits arbitrary deprivation of "life, liberty, or property" by the government except as ...
, when it was used to strike down a state statute limiting the amount of compensation that private
employment agencies could withhold from employees.
Background
A
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
statute restricted employment agencies from collecting more than ten percent of the salary of individuals for whom the agency obtained employment. A realtor applied for a license to operate an employment agency, but the Secretary of Labor of Nebraska refused to issue the license because the realtor refused to limit its deductions to ten percent of the salaries of individuals who obtained employment.
[''Olsen'', 313 U.S. at 243.] The realtor filed a lawsuit in an attempt to obtain a writ of
mandamus
(; ) is a judicial remedy in the form of an order from a court to any government, subordinate court, corporation, or public authority, to do (or forbear from doing) some specific act which that body is obliged under law to do (or refrain from ...
to order the secretary to grant the license.
[ Relying on ''Ribnik v. McBride'', the Supreme Court of Nebraska ruled that the statute was unconstitutional because it violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause.
]
Opinion of the Court
In an opinion written by Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
William O. Douglas
William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898January 19, 1980) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who was known for his strong progressive and civil libertarian views, and is often c ...
, the Court held that the Supreme Court of Nebraska should not have relied upon ''Ribnik v. McBride'' because " e drift away from ''Ribnik v. McBride'' ... has been so great that it can no longer be deemed a controlling authority." Justice Douglas explained that " are not concerned, however, with the wisdom, need, or appropriateness of the legislation" and concluded that the Court should defer to the state's determinations about the propriety of the legislation. The Court reversed the decision of the Supreme Court of Nebraska remanded the case to the Supreme Court of Nebraska for further proceedings.[''Olsen'', 313 U.S. at 247.]
See also
* List of United States Supreme Court cases
* Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume
*
References
External links
{{caselaw source
, case =''Olsen v. Nebraska'', {{ussc, 313, 236, 1941, el=no
, courtlistener =https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/103522/olsen-v-nebraska-ex-rel-western-reference-bond-assn-inc/
, findlaw =https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/313/236.html
, justia =https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/313/236/case.html
, loc =http://cdn.loc.gov/service/ll/usrep/usrep313/usrep313236/usrep313236.pdf
1941 in United States case law
United States Supreme Court cases
United States Supreme Court cases of the Hughes Court