Morey v. Lockhart was a United States Supreme Court case that dealt with the issue of whether a state court could enforce a contract that was made in violation of a state statute. The case involved a contract between two parties, Morey and Lockhart, in which Morey agreed to pay Lockhart a certain amount of money for the sale of a piece of property. The contract was made in violation of a state statute that prohibited the sale of property without a license. The Supreme Court held that the state court could not enforce the contract because it was made in violation of the state statute. The Court reasoned that the state statute was a valid exercise of the state's police power and that the state had the right to protect its citizens from contracts that were made in violation of the law. The Court also noted that the state had the right to protect its citizens from contracts that were made without proper consideration. The Court's decision in Morey v. Lockhart established that a state court could not enforce a contract that was made in violation of a state statute. This decision has been cited in numerous cases since then and has been used to support the idea that a state court cannot enforce a contract that is made in violation of the law.

Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in Morey v. Lockhart, a case concerning whether or not an Arkansas statute was unconstitutional for violating the Contract Clause of the United States Constitution. Justice Field argued that while he agreed with the majority's conclusion that there had been no violation of due process rights, he disagreed with their interpretation of what constituted a contract under Article I Section 10 and thus found it unnecessary to reach any decision on this matter as it did not affect his ultimate ruling. He further stated that if they were to consider contracts under this clause then they should look at all aspects including those which are implied by law rather than just express ones and concluded by saying that even though some may find such statutes oppressive, it is up to Congress or state legislatures - not courts - to decide how far these laws can go before being deemed unconstitutional.