Lacoste v. Department of Conservation of Louisiana

Background

A group of Louisiana dealers who buy, sell and ship hides and skins, including those from wild fur-bearing animals and alligators, sued a State official in New Orleans. The dealers challenged a 1920 Louisiana law that declares wild animals and their skins state property until a two-percent severance tax is paid. The law also requires licenses, reports, tags or certificates on shipments, and gives the Department of Conservation authority to set rules for valuation and collection. The dealers said the State would not accept license payments unless the severance tax was paid, and they argued the law unlawfully interfered with interstate commerce and violated the Fourteenth Amendment. Louisiana courts upheld the law and dismissed the dealers’ suit.

Reasoning

The Court examined what the law actually does rather than what the State called it. Justices concluded the statute is a conservation measure and valid exercise of the State’s police power to protect wild life. The Court said the tax operates on skins while held by dealers, before they move in interstate commerce, so it does not necessarily obstruct interstate trade. The Court also rejected claims that the law denied due process or equal protection, finding no shown arbitrary action by the Department of Conservation and that special taxes on this class of property are permissible.

Real world impact

Dealers must pay the two-percent severance tax and comply with licensing, recordkeeping and labeling requirements to acquire ownership and ship skins. The ruling affirms that a State may condition removal and sale of wild animals for conservation purposes without running afoul of the commerce clause or the Fourteenth Amendment.