During the course of his trip, Edwards was made aware of the fact that Duncan was unemployed and had little money and few personal possessions.

A complaint was subsequently filed against Edwards in Justice Court, where he was convicted and sentenced to six months imprisonment in the county jail.

Edwards appealed to the Superior Court of Yuba County and later to the Supreme Court of the United States, on the argument that his sentence was unconstitutional on the basis that the California law violated the Commerce Clause.

In writing their concurring opinions, the additional justices chose to forgo the explanation that California had violated Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, arguing that defining the transportation of human beings as “commerce” raises a number of troubling moral questions which undermine individual rights and devalue the original intent of the Commerce Clause.

Instead, they propose the idea that the impairment of one's ability to freely traverse interstate borders is a violation of the implied rights of US citizenship, and thereby violates the 14th Amendment and the individual's right to equal protection.