SCOTUS Asked to Decide Whether Special-Interest ‘Economic Favoritism’ Counts as Legitimate Government Interest
20th October 2015
In July the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit upheld a Connecticut regulation “whose sole purpose is to shield a particular group from intrastate economic competition.” Last week the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm, petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review that questionable ruling. The Supreme Court should take the case.
At issue in Sensational Smiles, LLC v. Mullen is a regulatory rule promulgated by the Connecticut Dental Commission forbidding non-dentists from shining low-powered LED lights into the mouths of paying customers during the course of teeth-whitening services. Violation of this rule is a felony punishable by up to five years in jail or $25,000 in fines.
In more enlightened times, the passing of special interest laws (technically known as ‘privileges’, although ‘progressives’ are ruining the language there as well) in return for appropriate consideration (in the form of campaign contributions and often votes) would be termed ‘corruption’.
These, however, are not those times.