Craigmiles v. Giles

In Craigmiles v. Giles, 312 F.3d 220 (6th Cir. 2002), the plaintiffs challenged an amendment to a statute that precluded the selling of caskets without a "funeral director" license from the state. 312 F.3d at 222. In that case, the evidence showed that licensed funeral directors sold the caskets at prices substantially over total costs. Id. at 224. Applying rational basis review, the Sixth Circuit held that the amendment violated both the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, " finding no rational relationship to any of the articulated purposes of the state" and that the amendment was "nothing more than an attempt to prevent economic competition." Id. at 225, 228.