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88 Tul. L. Rev. 993 (2013-2014)

handle is hein.journals/tulr88 and id is 1057 raw text is: Walking Dead: The Fifth Circuit Resurrects Rational Basis Review I. OVERVIEW ............................................993 II. BACKGROUND ............................. ......994 A. Economic Due Process: From Aggressive to Nonexistent.. .............................995 B. The Circuit Split over Economic Protectionism...............998 1l. CouRT's DECISION ................................... 1000 IV ANALysIs ........................................... 1003 I. OVERVIEW For generations, St. Joseph Abbey (Abbey) has constructed wooden caskets to bury its monks, but more recently, the Abbey assembled a lawsuit to bury an unconstitutional law.' After Hurricane Katrina destroyed its timber and rendered its source of income lifeless, the Abbey began to sell caskets to the general public.' While the monks of the Abbey offer no funeral services, they earn their living selling caskets at lower prices than those offered by funeral homes. Under the Louisiana Embalming and Funeral Directors Act (Act), intrastate sales of caskets to the public may only be made by a state- licensed funeral director and at a state-licensed funeral home.4 In 2007, the Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors (Board) ordered the Abbey not to sell caskets to the public, and Boyd Mothe Sr., a state-licensed funeral director, initiated a complaint against the Abbey.' The Abbey retaliated, filing suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. The Abbey asserted that the licensure requirements deny it equal protection and due process under the Fourteenth Amendment because the restrictions bear no rational relationship to any valid governmental interest.! The Board countered that the challenged rules, insulating funeral directors from competition, are rationally related to the state's 1. St. Joseph Abbey v. Castille, 712 F3d 215, 217, 220 (5th Cir. 2013). 2. Id. at 217. 3. Id. 4. Id at 218 (citing LA. REv. STAT. §§ 37:831(37)-(39), :848 (2013)). 5. Id at 219. 6. Id at 220. 7. Id 993

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