Arlan's Department Store of Louisville, Inc. v. Kentucky

Background

Three retail store owners in Kentucky were criminally prosecuted and fined for employing people to work on Sunday. Their convictions were upheld by the Kentucky Court of Appeals (357 S. W. 2d 708). The owners argued the state law violated the First Amendment’s protections for religious freedom, applied to the States through the Fourteenth Amendment.

Reasoning

The Supreme Court, in a brief per curiam order, granted the motion to dismiss and said the appeal presented no substantial federal question. The Court did not issue a full signed opinion explaining its reasoning. As a result, the Kentucky convictions and the small fines remained in place and the state enforcement of the Sunday work ban stands.

Real world impact

Retail businesses that open or employ people on Sunday face continuing risk of fines and criminal convictions under Kentucky law. The statute itself carves out an exemption for members of a religious society who observe a different day as their Sabbath. Because the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal without a full merits opinion, the broader constitutional dispute about Sunday laws was not finally resolved by this decision.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Douglas dissented, arguing the law improperly advances organized religion and forces majority religious practices on minorities. He said the statute’s exemption for organized religions highlights the law’s religious character and that it cannot be sustained under the First Amendment’s protections of religious freedom.