Crane v. Johnson, 242 U.S. 339 (1917)

Crane v. Johnson

No. 493

Argued December 12, 1916
Decided January 8, 1917
242 U.S. 339

APPEAL FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

Syllabus

The distinction made in the law of California (Laws 1913, c. 354, as amended by Laws 1915, c. 105) passed for the regulation of the practice of medicine and other modes of healing, between treatment employing prayer and religious faith only and a species of treatment which, while reliant upon the creation of mental states and processes in the patient, involves for its proper application special skill and experience and ability to diagnose diseases, is not necessarily an arbitrary distinction denying equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment.

When a party assails a state law upon the ground that it violates his rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, the law will be considered only in its application to his situation as revealed in the record, and all uncertainties of fact will be resolved against the complainant and in favor of the law.

233 F. 334 affirmed.

The case is stated in the opinion.