Sometimes the good intentions of a State legislature overreach and violate provisions of the US Constitution. A major concern is the application of due process via the 14th Amendment to the States. That is, under the US Constitution, States cannot deprive people of life, liberty or property without due process of law. The question is ultimately, how much process is due. The below issue concerning State long arm statutes (of which Alabama's is one of the more extreme)
when dealing with foreign corporations (businesses incorporated outside of the respective State). Long arm statutes extend the jurisdiction of courts (state courts) to include out-of-state
businesses that have sufficient "minimum contacts" within the State. Legislators see this as a means to protect their citizens, while others consider such statutes as simply a curb on the free flow of commerce. The question is "how 'minimum' should minimum contacts be, short of violating the due process provisions of the US Constitution?" Long arm statutes attempt to apply the jurisdiction of the individual States to a broad range of non-resident business contacts with the citizens of the States. The scale runs from setting up sales offices and having employees located in a given State to having one or two sales within a State to having solicited business (even via newspapers and Internet) from the State. Where should the line be drawn for
"minimum contacts" and why?