In the 1961 case of Benz v. New York State Thruway Authority, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of the defendant, New York State Thruway Authority. The plaintiff, Benz, a toll collector for the authority had filed a lawsuit claiming that his dismissal from employment was unconstitutional as it violated his rights to freedom of speech and due process under First Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment respectively. He argued that he was fired because he criticized certain policies and practices of his employer publicly which constituted protected speech under First Amendment. However, the court held that since Thruway Authority is not considered a state agency but rather a public corporation with its own board and management structure separate from state government control or interference; hence it does not qualify as 'state action'. Therefore, any actions taken by this entity including employee dismissals do not fall within constitutional purview thus cannot be challenged on constitutional grounds such as violation of free speech or due process rights.

In the dissenting opinion for Benz v. New York State Thruway Authority, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a state law requiring all vehicles using the New York Thruway to pay tolls, regardless of their destination or purpose, violated the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The dissenters believed that this law unfairly burdened interstate commerce by forcing out-of-state drivers who were merely passing through New York to subsidize a highway system primarily used by in-state residents and businesses. They contended that such discriminatory treatment was unconstitutional unless it served a legitimate public interest and there were no less restrictive alternatives available - conditions they felt had not been met in this case.