Bans on local legislation were easily evaded through single-member city classes

Evidence

Many of the new constitutions prohibited “local” legislation. This was meant to strike a blow at log-​rolling, venality, inefficiency. Too many “local” laws, and the legal system might fragment into something like the Holy Roman Empire; every town and village would have its own code of rules. On the other hand, different parts of the state—​and different cities—​might need special legislation. Legislatures were not allowed to pass laws that applied to one town or city only, but they could put towns and cities into classes, and pass laws for all members of the class. This turned out to be a most convenient loophole. The legislature could, and often did, set up classes that in fact had only a single member. — Lawrence M. Friedman, A History of American Law, 2071

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Total bans like Prohibition fail without corresponding enforcement capacity — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law: An Introduction, 820; The local community functioned as an individual against the state — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 682

Broader Connections

• Total bans like Prohibition fail without corresponding enforcement capacity #qualifies (0.75) — Lawrence M. Friedman and Grant M. Hayden, American Law, 820
• The local community functioned as an individual against the state #contradicts (0.70) — Georg Simmel, on individuality and social forms_…, 682