Casket case: mortuary monopoly.

• Author: Shackford, Scott
• Position: Citings - Brief article

Thanks to an order of Benedictine monks, it is now legal for Louisiana residents to buy caskets from whomever they choose.

For five years the monks of St. Joseph Abbey had been fighting the Louisiana State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors for the right to sell their handcrafted caskets to the public. (They were assisted by the Institute for Justice, a libertarian public-interest legal firm.) State law required casket sellers to be trained and licensed as funeral directors. The monks, who had no intention of providing services other than selling caskets, had no need for such training.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit struck...