At the height of the Great Depression, California passed an “anti-Okie” law making it a misdemeanor to knowingly assist a pauper in entering the state. Edwards was convicted under this law after he had driven to Texas and then returned to California with his indigent brother-in-law. This engaging presentation featured an introduction by Richard Rahm and presentation by renowned attorney and legal scholar/historian John S. Caragozian centering on the constitutionality of the law in the 1941 United States Supreme Court case, Edwards v. California.

Thank you to our co-sponsors, the Ninth Judicial Circuit Historical Society and the California Supreme Court Historical Society.