The brothers at St. Joseph Abbey are celebrating their recent victory over the State of Louisiana in a case that involved a question of whether they could make and sell caskets to folks in their state. The PJ Media story is here. A snip:

QuoteA state licensing law designed to protect funeral directors from competitive forces barred the monks from selling their caskets. The law required that the intrastate purchase of caskets be made only through state-licensed funeral directors at state-licensed funeral homes. This meant: unless the Abbey built or bought a funeral establishment with a layout parlor, a six-casket display room, an arrangement room, embalming facilities, and hired a full-time funeral director who had completed high school, 30 college credit hours, a one-year apprenticeship, and passed a test ... the Abbey could not sell its caskets to customers in Louisiana.

The Fifth Circuit has now declared that law to be unconstitutional.

If you read the article through, you'll understand that a good thing happened, that some nice fellows who build really good caskets are no longer barred from selling them to their neighbors. But...

Why and how is it that it takes a federal circuit court to overturn such a law? Why and how was the case even sent to the US Circuit Court? IMHO, this case should NEVER have gone outside state courts, and should have been decided in Louisiana's state supreme court. The US Constitution does not address the issue of intrastate sales of handmade caskets, and there is no clause or amendment that could conceivably apply in this case.

Please understand that I think the decision was the correct one -- why should the brothers be barred from making and selling their caskets to their neighbors? But the law that got in their way was a state law. No matter how stupid that state law is or was, I don't think the federal courts should have anything to say about it.

It appears that the Funeral Directors had a Self Proclaimed organizational Monopoly. The State was siding with the Funeral Directors.
The State was also saying you can't sell your product in the State - You have to sell it Interstate - not intrastate.
That puts the Abbey's trade busines in to interstate commerce and in the bailiwick of Federal Jurisdiction as the Abby was forced to sell out of the state.  The Abbey suffered great business complications and difficulties as a result.

NOTE this about caskets.
I am not familiar with current casket prices but 15  years ago some fancy and walnut caskets retailed for $ 3,000 to $6,000.

The cheapest was a cardboard Casket - $50. It depends on the state. Some require embalming. Some require concrete vaults for the casket.

But even the most expensive casket wholesaled for less than $400. Tje markup on all Funeral Homes is exponential. Most Funeral  Homes /  Businesses now belong to 2 or 3 Mega Corporations. There are not a lot of Independents.

It is a Big Dollar Scam and ripoff of people at one of the saddest and most emotional time in their life. The public ends of with huge Funeral Expenses to pay off.  Funeral Parlors / Businesses are rapacious in their very exorbitant charge.

http://www.ehow.com/about_5196905_cost-average-funeral.html

Average cost $ 7,500 - $9,000

Casket $600 - $10,000 ---------- average $2,300
Fun Dir Services ............................... $1,400
Embalming ........................................   $600
Calling room hours ..............................  $400
Ceremony............................................$450
Transportation .......................................$625
Misc . permit, obituary, register bk  .........$500

Cemetery
Plot ..................................................$1,000
Grave open / close ............................. $  500
Stone ..................................................$ 300 - thousands

Many Abbeys and Convent engage in business to help support their institution.  Many of them have wineries and some own large tracts of very valuable property.

Actually, few states require much of anything when it comes to burying people.

Here in Ohio, for example, the state basically wants your dead ass in the ground pronto, preferably within 24 hours. If that happens, there's no need for a casket or vault or embalming, certainly not a service. The state's interest has historically been limited to the public health, dead bodies in the back yard being prone to affect that. Burial vaults are almost always requirements of the cemetery; they are specifically designed to eliminate "sunken graves."

I have no quarrel with the Fifth Circuit's decision. I think the court was absolutely correct in its ruling that the monks should be permitted to sell their caskets wherever they can find buyers.

But I have a problem with the fact that the case ever got into the federal courts in the first place. THAT was my point!

For better or for worse, the case should have remained in the Louisiana state court system, and NEVER ventured into the federal courts.

The biggest problem we have in this country today is the widespread and common belief that ever damn thing is the business of the federal government. I chose to post this case specifically because it illustrates in bright lights that state issues should remain exactly that, and bringing in the feds is the WRONG approach unless a direct Constitutional issue is in play. Louisiana courts could easily -- and probably just as sensibly -- have disposed of this case, without a federal magistrate ever being consulted, and without a federal tax dollar ever being spent.

EVERYTHING IS NOT A FEDERAL CASE!!!!!