s enacted legislation to the contrary, the states could exercise the regulation to promote and protect the public interest.
With respect to private property, Munn v. Illinois was important because it affirmed limitations on private property rights. With respect to the regulation of commerce, Munn v. Illinois was important because it opened the door to the federal regulation of interstate commerce. Munn v. Illinois began in 1876 and the United States Supreme Court delivered its decision on the case in 1877. The United States Congress enacted the Interstate Commerce Act in 1887. Munn v. Illinois, therefore, was an important step in the development of the regulation of commercial activity in the United States.
In the first half of the twentieth century, the federal government and states established control boards for several agricultural products. The objectives of these control boards were to assure a stable supply of agricultural products at affordable prices and to assure an economically viable agricultural industry. Agricultural control boards are a thing of the past in the United States; however, they still exist in other countries, including Canada in North America.
In the 1930s, the State of New York operated a Milk Control Board that, among other things, established minimum and maximum retail prices for milk sold in the state. The maximum price for a quart of milk was nine-cents. Leo Nebbia, a grocer in Rochester, New York offered for sale a package of two quarts of milk and a loaf of bread for a total of 18 cents. The State of New York charged Nebbia with violating the law by ignoring the Milk Control Board regulation [Nebbia v. New York, 291 U.S. 502 (1934)]. The state court convicted Nebbia and state appeal courts upheld the conviction.
Nebbia challenged the Milk Control Board on grounds similar to the defendant's challenge in Munn v. Illinois. Nebbia contended that the action by the Milk Control Board dep...