This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

Houser (P) brought a class action suit against the State challenging the constitutionality of legislation that established the minimum drinking age to be 21. P contended that this discrimination violated equal protection and that 18-year-olds were adults for all other purposes other than drinking and that no scientific facts could support the State's conclusions. The State countered with two technical studies and a single federal case that upheld a Pennsylvania statute that limited drinking to those 21 and over. The trial court rendered summary judgment in favor of D and P appealed challenging the court's judicial notice of the State's studies and its refusal to grant a trial on the merits.

The legal issues presented in this case will be displayed here.

The court's holding and decision will be displayed here.

Legal analysis from Dean's Law Dictionary will be displayed here.