By SAM HANANEL, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Monday that a
66-year-old program that lets the government take raisins away from
farmers to help reduce supply and boost market prices is
unconstitutional.
In an 8-1 ruling, the justices said forcing raisin growers to
give up part of their annual crop without full payment is an illegal
confiscation of private property.
The ruling is a victory for California farmers Marvin and Laura
Horne, who claimed they were losing money under a 1940s-era program
they call outdated and ineffective. They were fined $695,000 for
trying to get around the program.
A federal appeals court said the program was acceptable because
the farmers benefited from higher market prices and didn't lose the
entire value of their crop.
The government argued that the Hornes benefited from increased
raisin prices, but their cause had won wide support from
conservative groups opposed to government action that infringes on
private property rights.
Writing for the court, Chief Justice John Roberts said the
government must pay "just compensation" when it takes personal goods
just as when it takes land away. He rejected the government's
argument that the Hornes voluntarily chose to participate in the
raisin market and have the option of selling different crops if they
don't like it.
"'Let them sell wine' is probably not much more comforting to the
raisin growers than similar retorts have been to others throughout
history," Roberts said. "Property rights cannot be so easily
manipulated."
The program was authorized under a 1937 law that allows the U.S.
Department of Agriculture to keep prices for raisins and other crops
steady by helping to manage supply. A 1949 marketing order allowed
farmers to form a Raisin Administrative Committee that would decide
how much of the raisin crop handlers must turn over to the
government each year.
These raisins would be placed into a reserve pool to be sold
outside the open market, used for the school lunch program, or given
away to charities and foreign governments. Any profits from these
reserve sales would go toward funding the committee and anything
left over went back to the farmers.
The Hornes refused to participate in the program in 2003 and
2004, when raisin production far exceeded the expected demand. They
tried to get around the regulations by packaging crops on their own
instead of going through a middleman. But the department fined them
for violating the rules.
Raisin handlers were required to give up 47 percent of their crop
in 2003 season, but received far less than their costs of
production. Farmers gave up 30 percent of the crop in 2004 and were
paid nothing.
Raisin prices have been relatively stable recently and the
committee has not ordered farmers to put crops in reserve since
2010.
Only a small number of other crops are regulated in the same way,
though federal officials say most of those programs are not active.
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http://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2015/06/22/high-court-strikes-down-raisin-program-as-unconstitutional