Morey v. Doud

Last updated
Morey v. Doud
Seal of the United States Supreme Court.svg
Argued April 24, 1957
Decided June 24, 1957
Full case nameLloyd Morey, Auditor of Public Accounts of the State of Illinois, Latham Castle, Attorney General of the State of Illinois, and Benjamin S. Adamowski, State's Attorney of Cook County, Illinois, Appellants v. George W. Doud, et al., Doing Business as Bondified Systems, et al.
Citations354 U.S. 457 ( more )
77 S. Ct. 1354; 1 L. Ed. 2d 1485
Case history
PriorComplaint dismissed, Doud v. Hodge, 127 F. Supp. 853 (N.D. Ill. 1955); probable jurisdiction noted, 350 U.S. 814(1955); vacated and remanded, 350 U.S. 485 (1956); on remand, 146 F. Supp. 887 (N.D. Ill. 1956); probable jurisdiction noted, 352 U.S. 923(1956).
Holding
A state may not grant a specific company an exception to the requirements of the law that is applicable to everyone else.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Earl Warren
Associate Justices
Hugo Black  · Felix Frankfurter
William O. Douglas  · Harold H. Burton
Tom C. Clark  · John M. Harlan II
William J. Brennan Jr.  · Charles E. Whittaker
Case opinions
MajorityBurton, joined by Warren, Douglas, Clark, Brennan, Whittaker
DissentBlack
DissentFrankfurter, joined by Harlan
Laws applied
U.S. Const. Amend. XIV
Overruled by
City of New Orleans v. Dukes , 427 U.S. 297 (1976)

Morey v. Doud, 354 U.S. 457 (1957), was a case where Doud and two partners sold 'Bondified' brand money orders in Illinois, directly or through agents such as drug and grocery stores. A state law required any seller or issuer of money orders to secure a license and submit to state regulation, except that the statute, by name, explicitly exempted the American Express Company from these requirements.

Contents

Doud, his partners and one of his agents, fearing prosecution under the law, sued the state, arguing the law was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court agreed, finding the special exemption only for American Express violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. [1]

Overruled by City of New Orleans v. Dukes (1976)

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References

  1. Morey v. Doud, 354 U.S. 457 (1957).