This Supreme Court case involved Thomas Armstrong and other plaintiffs, who were suing the Treasurer of Athens County. The plaintiffs argued that they had been wrongfully charged for taxes on property owned by a corporation in which they held shares. They claimed that since corporations are not liable to taxation under Ohio law, their individual shares should also be exempt from taxation. The defendant countered with an argument based on the state constitution, claiming that it allowed for such taxation of corporate shareholders. Ultimately, the court sided with the defendant and ruled against the plaintiffs; however, it did note that if there was any ambiguity in how this issue should be interpreted under Ohio law then it would have found differently in favor of them.

In the case of Thomas Armstrong and Others v. The Treasurer of Athens County, the dissenting opinion argued that a tax imposed on non-residents was unconstitutional. The dissent argued that Ohio's Constitution prohibited taxation without representation, meaning taxes could only be levied against those who had voting rights in the state. Since non-residents did not have voting rights in Ohio, they should not be subject to taxation by its government. Furthermore, it was noted that such a tax would create an unequal burden for citizens living outside of Ohio since their property would be taxed twice - once by their home state and again by Ohio when visiting or conducting business there. Ultimately, this violated both due process and equal protection under law as guaranteed by the U.S Constitution which superseded any conflicting laws from individual states like Ohio's constitution at issue here.