Edwards v. California

314 U.S. 160 (1941)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
E
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Edwards v. California

United States Supreme Court
314 U.S. 160 (1941)

Play video

Facts

Edwards (defendant) was a California resident. Edwards’s brother-in-law, Frank Duncan, lived in Texas. In December 1939, Edwards went to Texas to get Duncan and drive Duncan back to California in Edwards’s car. When Edwards arrived in Texas, he learned that Duncan was an indigent, or poor, person. Edwards and Duncan left Texas on January 1, 1940, to return to California. After Edwards and Duncan arrived in California, Duncan lived with Edwards for 10 days and then obtained financial aid from the Farm Security Administration. The State of California (plaintiff) filed a criminal complaint against Edwards under a state statute that made it a misdemeanor for anyone to knowingly bring into the state an indigent person who was not a California resident. Edwards objected to the complaint, arguing that the statute was unconstitutional. The justice court overruled Edwards’s objection, and the case went to trial. Edwards was convicted and sentenced to six months imprisonment. The superior court affirmed Edwards’s conviction, concluding that the statute was a valid exercise of the state’s police power. Edwards subsequently appealed to the United States Supreme Court.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Byrnes, J.)

Concurrence (Jackson, J.)

Concurrence (Douglas, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 811,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 811,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Constitutional Law
Healthcare Law
Poverty Law

Key Terms