Schechter Poultry Corp V. United States Summary

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A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States 295 U.S. 495 (1935) Facts A case concerning congressional delegation power and the Commerce Clause. In 1933, congress passed the National Industrial Recovery Act, which required the creation of codes of fair competition for businesses including trade practices, wages, and hours. The codes were to be drafted by trade association and other industry groups and sent to the president for approval. If no recommendations were sent to the president, he was to draft the codes. However, the NIRA did not set standards for the president to use in drafting or approving the codes and it regulated interstate commerce. A.L.A Schechter Poultry Corporation, a brother-owned New York poultry slaughterhouse in New York was found by the government to be in violation of the Poultry Code. Of all the violations the most egregious violation was selling poultry “unsanitary for human consumption.” A.L.A Schechter and the owners were indicted on sixty counts of violations, nineteen of which they were convicted of and sentenced to short jail terms. They unsuccessfully appealed to the court of the appeals and then appealed to the Supreme Court. Schechter argued that the NIRA was unconstitutional due to its attempts to override the prohibition of illegal …show more content…

The United States argued that the NIRA was within in commerce power of Congress due to past jurisprudence of the Court and because the effects of the Schechter Poultry Corporation on the national price of interstate

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