<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Laws applied </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> U.S. Const . art . I; U.S. Const . amend . V; 21 U.S.C. § 61 - 63 (1938) (Filled Milk Act § 61 - 63) </Td> </Tr> <P> United States v. Carolene Products Company, 304 U.S. 144 (1938), was an April 25, 1938 decision by the United States Supreme Court . The case is famous for its "Footnote Four" in which the Court established the system of heightened scrutiny for laws targeting "discrete and insular minorities," compared with the lower scrutiny applied for economic regulations, as in this case . </P> <P> The case dealt with a federal law that prohibited filled milk (skimmed milk compounded with any fat or oil other than milk fat to resemble milk or cream) from being shipped in interstate commerce . The defendant, a company that traded in a form of filled milk consisting of condensed skim milk and coconut oil, argued that the law was unconstitutional because of both the Commerce Clause and the Due Process Clause . </P>

Footnote 4 of united states v. carolene products co. identifies areas where