The freedom of contract is implicit in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Decided April 17, 1905 (argued February 24, 1905). Opinion of the Court: Rufus W. Peckham → go there Dissenting: Harlan, Holmes. Applied: the Fourteenth Amendment → go there Topic: Businesses/Corporations/Contracts. Lochner v. New York, 198 U.S. 45 (1905), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court holding that a New York State statute that prescribed maximum working hours for bakers violated the bakers' right to freedom of contract under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The decision has since been effectively overturned. Wiki link