NEW LIFE FOR CASKET DEALERS.

• Position: Brief Article

A federal judge opened Mississippi to independent casket dealers who promise cheaper prices, striking down a state law that had allowed sales only by licensed funeral home directors. Mississippi is the third southern state recently to lose a court fight over laws restricting casket sales. The state had argued that the law addressed health concerns because human remains need a quick burial, but was challenged by a company that had been selling caskets to two Mississippi dealers. The dealers could do business with...