EDWARDS v. CALIFORNIA

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Case Basics
Docket No. 
17
Petitioner 
Edwards
Respondent 
California
Decided By 
Stone Court (1941-1942)
Opinion 
314 U.S. 160 (1941)
Argued 
Tuesday, October 21, 1941
Decided 
Monday, November 24, 1941
Advocates
Samuel Slaff
(Argued the cause for the appellant )
W. T. Sweigert
(Argued the cause for the appellee)
Term:
Location: California border near Yuma, AZ
Facts of the Case 

At the height of the Great Depression, anyone who knowingly assisted a pauper in entering the state of California was guilty of a misdemeanor. A Californian named Edwards drove to Texas and then returned to California with his indigent brother-in-law. Edwards was found guilty of violating the state's "Okie law;" he was given a six-month suspended jail sentence.

Question 

Does the Calfornia law violate the Constitution's Commerce Clause?

Conclusion 

Yes, the Commerce Clause forbids a state to exclude indigents. California's interest in the health of its citizens and the sufficiency of its welfare funds do not justify the burden on interstate commerce occasioned by the law. Byrnes's unanimous opinion observed that "the indigent non-residents who are the real victims of this statute are deprived of the opportunity to exert political pressure upon the California legislature in order to obtain a change in policy." (See Mayor of New York v. Miln.)

Cite this Page
EDWARDS v. CALIFORNIA. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 26 April 2013. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1949/1941/1941_17>.
EDWARDS v. CALIFORNIA, The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, http://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1949/1941/1941_17 (last visited April 26, 2013).
"EDWARDS v. CALIFORNIA," The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, accessed April 26, 2013, http://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1949/1941/1941_17.