California v. Zook (No. 355-1949)

Question whether California statute regulating sale of arrangement of transportation (e.g. shared rides) over public highways superseded similar federal statute with lower penalties. Dissenting opinion by Burton J.; correspondence asking consideration by Frankfurter, J.; two prints of Appendix C.

Court (Murphy, J.) holds Congress had not intended to preempt the state legislatuion, therefore conviction under California statute should not have been set aside. Burton, J., joined by Douglas and Jackson, JJ., dissents. (Frankfurther concurs separately with Burton's dissent.) "We agree with the court below that California could not, without the consent exercised by Congress to regulate commerce among the states and we find here no such consent.... [Here] Congress has esercised its power of regulation...to the exclusion of the states and in conflict with the regulation attempted here by the State of California." Therefore conviction under astate statute was invalid. 336 U.S. at 742, 93 L.Ed. at 1016.