In the 1926 case of Dorchy v. Kansas, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of defendant George Dorchy, who was convicted for violating a Kansas statute that limited miners' working hours to eight per day. The court found that this law violated the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause because it did not provide adequate guidelines for determining what constituted a "working day." The state argued that any time spent underground should be considered part of the workday, while Dorchy contended only actual labor time should count towards these hours. In its decision, the court stated that laws must have clear standards so individuals can understand how to comply with them and courts can enforce them consistently; vague laws violate constitutional rights by leaving too much discretion to individual judges or juries.

In the dissenting opinion for Dorchy v. Kansas, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a state law limiting miners' workdays to eight hours infringed upon individual liberty and freedom of contract. The dissenting justices believed that this regulation was not within the scope of police power as it did not directly relate to public health or safety. They contended that while states have broad powers in regulating businesses, they should not interfere with personal liberties unless there is an overriding societal interest at stake. In their view, working conditions in mines were already regulated by other laws ensuring workers' safety and health; thus, further restrictions on working hours were unnecessary and unjustified intrusions into private contractual relationships between employers and employees.