In the 1932 case of C. A. Bradley, doing business as Wolverine Motor Freight Lines, v. Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of Bradley and against the state commission's decision to deny him a certificate for intrastate operation within Ohio due to his Michigan-based operations. The court held that this denial violated both the Commerce Clause and Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because it discriminated against interstate commerce by giving preference to local operators over those from other states like Bradley who also operated within Ohio but were based elsewhere.

In the dissenting opinion for the case C. A. Bradley, Doing Business as Wolverine Motor Freight Lines v. Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, Justice Stone argued that the state's power to regulate interstate commerce should not be limited by a federal law unless it is explicitly stated in said law or if there is an unavoidable conflict between them. He believed that Congress did not intend to strip states of their regulatory powers when they passed the Federal Water Power Act and Interstate Commerce Act because these laws do not specifically mention this intention nor do they inherently clash with state regulations on public utilities and transportation companies operating within their borders. Therefore, he disagreed with majority’s decision which held that Michigan-based trucker C.A Bradley was exempt from complying with certain Ohio regulations due to his federally-granted right to operate across state lines under these acts.