Articles

Can states use licensing laws simply to prevent competition?

August 21, 2013 | By TIMOTHY SANDEFUR

In 2008, PLF attorneys won an important victory for the constitutional right of entrepreneurs to earn a living without unreasonable government interference. In that case, Merrifield v. Lockyer, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that while states can use licensing laws to protect the general public from fraud or from dangers to public health, ...