In the case of Hughes, Secretary of Transportation of Maryland, et al. v. Alexandria Scrap Corp., 1975, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Maryland statute that aimed to reduce automobile junk and theft by regulating scrap processors within its borders and providing incentives for out-of-state vehicles to be scrapped in Maryland. The court held that this did not violate the Commerce Clause as it was not discriminatory against interstate commerce but rather an incentive program designed to address a local problem - abandoned cars littering roadsides and urban areas across the state. The ruling also clarified that states have broad authority under their police powers to regulate activities within their boundaries even if they impact interstate commerce unless such regulations are clearly excessive or protectionist in nature.

In the dissenting opinion for Hughes v. Alexandria Scrap Corp., Justice William J. Brennan Jr., joined by Justices Byron R. White and Thurgood Marshall, argued that Maryland's bounty program violated the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV as it discriminated against out-of-state processors in favor of local ones. The majority held that this clause did not apply to corporations, but Brennan disagreed with this interpretation, asserting that a corporation should be treated as a citizen under the Constitution when its fundamental rights are at stake. He also contended that Maryland's statute was protectionist legislation designed to benefit in-state businesses at the expense of their out-of-state competitors which is contrary to principles underlying our federal system.