In re Debs

U.S. Case Law

Legal Definition of In re Debs

158 U.S. 564 (1895), upheld the government's use of the injunction against unlawful strikes. At issue was labor leader Eugene V. Debs's violation of a federal court injunction against the 1894 Pullman [Train] Car Company plant strike. The Supreme Court upheld the injunction on the grounds of national sovereignty and the government's authority to remove obstructions to interstate commerce and the mails. The Pullman injunction was used as a model for strike stoppages until decisions during the New Deal era began to weaken its hold.