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Quotation from Munn v. Illinois by Supreme Court of the United States
“If this be sound law, if there be no protection, either in the principles upon which our republican government is founded, or in the prohibitions of the Constitution against such invasion of private rights, all property and all business in the State are held at the mercy of a majority of its legislature.”
Munn v. Illinois, Dissent of Justice Field (excerpt) (U.S. Reports text (Legal Information Institute))
Justice Field, joined by Justice Strong, warns of the reach of the majority's principle.
Citation: "If this be sound law, if there be no protection, either in the principles upon which our republican government is founded, or in the prohibitions of the Constitution against such invasion of private rights, all property and all business in the State are held at the mercy of a majority of its legislature." — Supreme Court of the United States, Munn v. Illinois, Dissent of Justice Field (excerpt) (U.S. Reports text (Legal Information Institute)). (id munn-v-illinois-q5)
Portrait: Chief Justice Morrison Waite, Mathew Benjamin Brady, Public domain.
