Later this month, you?ll have a chance to hear William ?Chip? Mellor of the Institute for Justice discuss the new book, The Dirty Dozen: How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom.

Mellor will deliver the John Locke Foundation Shaftesbury Society presentation June 30.

Mellor and co-author Robert Levy make compelling arguments for their 12 offending cases, including the 1938 ruling in United States v. Carolene Products Co. A footnote in that decision has helped lead to the diminution of rights over the past 70 years.

The Court accomplished precisely what the Federalists had feared: It declared, in essence, that only those rights specifically enumerated in the Constitution, plus selected rights associated with political processes (such as voting) or with protection of minorities, would be judicially enforced. The innumerable remainder of our rights, including the right to earn an honest living, would be enjoyed at the pleasure of the government. No result could be more at odds with the Ninth Amendment?s command that ?The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.?

Much of the chapter surrounding that quote discusses the unconstitutional nature of occupational licensing restrictions. Another critic of licensing is John Hood, who discussed the topic in a recent Daily Journal.