Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad v. McGuire

Citations

• 219 U.S. 549
• 31 S. Ct. 259
• 55 L. Ed. 328
• 1911 U.S. LEXIS 1653

Syllabus

<p>Neither the excellence nor the defects of a legislative scheme may be permitted to determine the constitutionality of a .state statute; in this court the only question is whether the statute transcends the limits of power defined by the Federal Constitution.</p> <p>The legislature, provided it acts within constitutional limitations, .is the arbiter of the public policy-of the State; and it may by amendment enlarge the scope of a statute beyond the limits set upon the previous statute by the courts;</p> <p>While the court may, in the absence of legislation and in th'e light of the common law, uphold or condemn contracts in the light of what is conceived to be public policy, that determination must yield .to the legislative will when constitutionally expressed thereafter.</p> <p>A State has power to prohibit contracts limiting liability for injuries made in advance of the injury received, and to provide that the subsequent acceptance of benefits under such contracts shall not constitute satisfaction of the claim for injuries received after the contract. Such a statute does not impair-the liberty of contract guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment; and so held as to the Iowa statute relative to employés of railway companies.</p> <p>Freedom of contract is a qualified and not an absolute right. There is no absolute freedom to contract as one chooses. Liberty implies the absence of arbitrary restraint — not immunity from reasonable regulations.</p> <p>Where police legislation has a reasonable relation to an object within governmental authority the legislative discretion is not subject to judicial review.</p> <p>The scope of judicial inquiry as to a statute is limited to the question of power to enact, while the scope of legislative consideration includes the matter of policy.</p> <p>Where the legislature has power to establish a regulation, it has also power to prohibit contracts in derogation of such regulation.</p> <p>Whether the relief scheme of a railroad company in