PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION Norfolk and Western Railroad Company v. Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is a Supreme Court case from 1968. The case involved a dispute between the Norfolk and Western Railroad Company and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission over the railroad's freight rates. The railroad argued that the Commission's rate structure was unconstitutional, as it violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Supreme Court ultimately sided with the Commission, ruling that the rate structure was not unconstitutional. The Court held that the Commission had acted within its authority in setting the rates, and that the rates were reasonable and did not violate the Due Process Clause. The Court also noted that the Commission had taken into account the interests of both the railroad and the public in setting the rates. The decision established that the Commission had the authority to set freight rates, and that the rates did not violate the Due Process Clause.

PUBLIC UTILITY COMMISSION In the dissenting opinion of Norfolk and Western Railroad Company v. Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, Justice Brennan argued that the majority’s decision was contrary to both precedent and congressional intent. He noted that Congress had intended for railroads to be regulated by state commissions in order to protect consumers from unfair practices, but the majority's ruling would allow railroads to avoid such regulation altogether. Furthermore, he pointed out that this case was similar to prior cases where it had been determined that states could regulate interstate commerce if they did so in a manner consistent with federal law. Thus, he concluded that the Court should have upheld Pennsylvania’s regulatory authority over railroad rates as being within its power under existing laws and precedents rather than striking down those regulations as unconstitutional.