Today in Supreme Court History: July 28, 1880

7/28/1880: San Francisco prohibits operation of laundires in wood buildings, "without having first obtained the consent of the board of supervisors." The Supreme Court found this ordinance unconstitutional in Yick Wo v. Hopkins (1886).

Comments

[y81]

I think it would be more accurate to say that the Court found the administration of the ordinance unconstitutional, and the resulting imprisonment of Yick Wo illegal. Had the San Francisco authorities issued permits on a racially non-discriminatory basis, the ordinance itself would have passed Constitutional muster.

[Dilan Esper]

That's basically right.

You could also view Yick Wo as an early version of an animus case. Obviously a city can regulate laundries, but the clear purpose of this was to put Chinese laundries out of business.

[Joe Kelly]

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