Edwards v. California
1941 United States Supreme Court case / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Edwards v. People of State of California, 314 U.S. 160 (1941), was a landmark[1][2] United States Supreme Court case where a California law prohibiting the bringing of a non-resident "indigent person" into the state was struck down as unconstitutional.
Edwards v. California | |
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Argued April 28–29, 1941 Reargued October 21, 1941 Decided November 24, 1941 | |
Full case name | Edwards v. People of State of California |
Citations | 314 U.S. 160 (more) 62 S. Ct. 164; 86 L. Ed. 119; 1941 U.S. LEXIS 1143 |
Case history | |
Prior | Probable jurisdiction noted, 61 S. Ct. 395 (1941); reargument ordered, 313 U.S. 545 (1941). |
Holding | |
A state cannot prohibit indigent people from moving into it. | |
Court membership | |
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Case opinions | |
Majority | Byrnes, joined by Stone, Roberts, Reed, Frankfurter |
Concurrence | Douglas, joined by Black, Murphy |
Concurrence | Jackson |
The so-called anti-Okie law made it a misdemeanor to bring into California "any indigent person who is not a resident of the State, knowing him to be an indigent person." Edwards was a Californian who had driven to Texas and returned with his unemployed brother-in-law. He was tried, convicted and given a six-month suspended sentence. On appeal from the Superior Court of Yuba County, the Supreme Court unanimously vacated the verdict and declared the law unconstitutional, as violating the Constitution's Commerce Clause. Justice Byrnes wrote the majority opinion. In concurring opinions, Justices Douglas joined by Justices Black and Murphy, and Justice Jackson held that the law violated the Privileges or Immunities clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.[3]