Law Commons^™

Illegal Agreements And The Lesser Evil Principle, Chunlin Leonhard

Catholic University Law Review

When parties enter into an illegal agreement and bring a dispute arising from the transaction before a court, the court finds itself in a difficult position. The court is faced with two competing interests: the importance of both upholding and protecting the dignity of the law and honoring inherent principles of U.S. contract law - freedom of contract and individual autonomy. There exists a common misconception that courts, when presented with illegal contracts, follow the rule of non-enforcement. However, an examination of case law indicates that courts are instead concerned with the consequences of their choices, and have consistently followed …