1. Railway Express Agency v. New York, (1949)
2. Facts: Railway operates a fleet of trucks, on which it sells advertising. The city of New York has an ordinance that forbids the sale of advertisements on the side of trucks. The city’s justification for the ordinance was that advertisement on the street is a public safety and traffic hazard.
3. Procedural Posture: Railway was convicted and appealed on equal protection grounds.
4. Issue: Whether the banning of advertisements on the sides of trucks for hire, while allowing advertisements related to the owner of the truck’s own business, violates the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment.
5. Holding: No.
6. ∏ Argument: The advertisements on the sides of hired truck are no more dangerous than those on the sides of a non-hired truck. Thus, it provides unequal protection because the classification does not bear a rational relationship to the purpose of the law.
7. ∆ Argument: Even though it does not eliminate vehicular advertising, it does eliminate advertising for hire, and to that extent cuts down on the hazard sought to be controlled.
8. Majority Reasoning: The local authorities have their own reasons for drawing the classification as they do. If they feel that the advertising for hire presents a greater hazard than those who advertise their own business, then the court can not second guess the wisdom of their judgment. The classification has a relation to the purpose of safety, and does not result in the kind of discrimination from which the equal protection clause affords protection [doesn’t apply to economic protection]. It is not a requirement that all evils of the same genus be eradicated or none at all.
9. Concurrence Reasoning: [Jackson] was concerned that when government chooses to eliminate only part of a problem, there is a greater danger that they are acting arbitrarily. Banning advertising altogether would bring more close scrutiny than only banning ads for hire, thus it is more likely that there is some arbitrariness in the classification. The court has often announced that the classification must have an appropriate relation to the purpose. Here, the classification can only be viewed as relating to the purpose if one assumes that tolerating advertising for hire is undesirable since advertising is a danger. Still, it is not the court’s job to second guess the legislature for this type of economic regulation.
