Economic Liberty

Eugene Volokh | 12.5.2024 2:45 PM

I've long been interested in how state courts sometimes provide protection for economic liberty under state constitutions, beyond what the federal constitution would offer. I've seen this particularly in North Carolina, under the state constitution's Fruits of Their Own Labor Clause. Here's the latest example, from Tuesday's Proctor v. City of Jacksonville, in an opinion by Judge Griffin, joined by Judges Tyson and Collins:

This case arises out of tension between business owners in Jacksonville and the City …. In 2014, the City passed the Unified Development Ordinance of the City of Jacksonville ("the UDO"). The UDO provides numerous zoning maps which dictate the areas where a food truck may operate and numerous regulations which provide the conditions food trucks and private-property owners must meet before operating on private property[, including that] …

Any Food vendor shall be at least 250 feet from any other parcel containing: 1) a food vendor, 2) a low density, medium density, high density residential or downtown residential zoning district, and or 3) a restaurant; …

Plaintiffs allege the location restrictions prevent food truck operators from conducting business in approximately ninety-six percent of property located in Jacksonville. Because of these restrictions, Plaintiffs contend their rights to engage in safe and lawful occupations are severely infringed….

The Fruits of Their Labor clause provides: "We hold it to be self-evident that all persons are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, the enjoyment of the fruits of their own labor, and the pursuit of happiness."

Our Supreme Court has recognized substantive economic protections under the Fruits of Their Labor Clause prevent the State and consequently its political subdivisions from creating and enforcing regulations that impede "legitimate and innocuous vocations by which men earn their daily bread." State v. Ballance (N.C. 1949) (holding a licensing scheme for photographers violated the Fruits of Their Labor Clause); see also Roller v. Allen (N.C. 1957) (holding a licensing scheme for ceramic tile installers violated the Fruits of Their Labor Clause).

The Law of the Land clause, on the other hand, provides: "No person shall be taken, imprisoned, or disseized of his freehold, liberties, or privileges, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any manner deprived of his life, liberty, or property, but by the law of the land." This provision, analogous to the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause, "serves to limit the [S]tate's police power to actions which have a real or substantial relation to the public health, morals,........

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