In the 1908 case Muller v. Oregon, Louis Brandeis, acting as a litigator, collected empirical data from hundreds of sources. In what became known as the Brandeis Brief, the report provided social authorities with information on the health impacts of long working hours on women. This was the first brief in the United States that relied on analysis of factual data rather than pure legal theory to argue a case, and changed the direction of the Supreme Court and of U.S. law. The Brandeis Brief became the model for future Supreme Court presentations in cases affecting the health or welfare of classes of individuals. This model was later successfully used in Brown v. Board of Education to demonstrate the harmful psychological effects of segregated education on African-American children.
External links
- The full Brandeis Brief, courtesy of the Louis D. Brandeis School of Law (University of Louisville)
