Hodges v. United States

Hodges v. United States
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued April 23–2, 1906 Decided May 28, 1906
Full case name	Reuben Hodges v. United States
Citations	203 U.S. 1 (more) 27 S. Ct. 6; 51 L. Ed. 65
Case history
Prior	Conviction in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas; demurrer overruled by Jacob Trieber
Holding
The Thirteenth Amendment does not authorize Congress to intervene against racially-motivated interference with labor contracts.
Court membership
Chief Justice Melville Fuller Associate Justices John M. Harlan · David J. Brewer Edward D. White · Rufus W. Peckham Joseph McKenna · Oliver W. Holmes Jr. William R. Day
Case opinions
Majority	Brewer, joined by Fuller, Brown, White, Peckham, McKenna, Holmes
Dissent	Harlan, joined by Day
Laws applied
18 U.S.C. § 241, 42 U.S.C. § 1981
Overruled by
Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co., 392 U.S. 409 (1968)[1]

Hodges v. United States, 203 U.S. 1 (1906), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court limiting the power of Congress to make laws under the Thirteenth Amendment. Three white men had been convicted in the Eastern Arkansas District Court for conspiring against black sawmill workers.

The statute that was used to convict the men prohibits conspiracy to deprive American citizens of their constitutional liberties, including the right to make contracts. The Supreme Court overturned the conviction, holding that Congress did not have the right to intervene against racially-motivated interference with labor contracts.