Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States

A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, 295 U.S. 495, 55 S. Ct. 837, 79 L. Ed. 1570 (1935), is one of the most famous cases from the Great Depression era. The case tested the legality of certain methods used by Congress and President FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT to combat the devastating economic effects of the depression. After the U.S. Supreme Court declared the methods unconstitutional, Roosevelt publicly scolded the Court and later used the decision as one justification for a controversial plan to stock the Court with justices more receptive of Roosevelt's programs.

At the heart of the Schechter case was legislation passed by Congress in 1933. The NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL RECOVERY ACT (NIRA) (48 Stat. 195) was passed in response to the unemployment...