In Hegeman Farms Corp. v. Baldwin et al., the U.S Supreme Court was asked to consider whether a New York state law that regulated milk prices violated the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, which gives Congress exclusive power over interstate commerce. The plaintiff, Hegeman Farms Corporation, argued that because it sold its milk in both New York and other states, any regulation of its prices by New York would interfere with interstate commerce and thus be unconstitutional. However, the court ruled against Hegeman Farms Corporation stating that while some aspects of their business were indeed part of interstate commerce (such as transportation), others like production and sale within a single state were not necessarily so; hence they could be subject to local regulations without violating federal jurisdiction over trade between states.

In the dissenting opinion for Hegeman Farms Corp. v. Baldwin et al., it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a New York law regulating milk prices contradicted previous rulings of the court and violated principles of economic liberty protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. The dissenters believed that while states have broad powers to regulate businesses in order to protect public welfare, these powers should not extend so far as to control prices or interfere with free competition, which they saw as fundamental rights under our constitutional system. They also pointed out inconsistencies between this case and earlier decisions where similar laws were struck down on grounds of unconstitutionality, suggesting an arbitrary application of judicial review standards by the majority justices.