In this case, the ACLU represented Michael David Aguilar, who received two citations for "cruising," which was prohibited in the Los Gatos central business district. The Los Gatos ordinance defined "cruising" as "driving a motor vehicle on a highway (1) for the sake of driving, without immediate destination, (2) at random, but on the lookout for possible developments, or (3) for the purposes of (a) sightseeing repeatedly in the same area, and (b) while driving with the purpose of socializing with other motorists or pedestrians."

Because the cruising ordinance was an attempt to regulate the behavior of individual drivers, and because local regulation of a matter addressed in the Vehicle Code was only allowable when "regulating or prohibiting processions or assemblages on the highways," the citations issued to Aguilar were found to be in violation of the Vehicle Code and were reversed.