In the Burrell v. Montana case of 1903, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of Montana, upholding its right to tax a mining company's property. The plaintiff, Burrell and his associates were owners of a mining claim in Silver Bow County, Montana which they leased to a corporation for operation. They argued that since they had leased their mine to another entity (a corporation), it was exempt from taxation under state law as per Article IX Section 1 of the Constitution of Montana which exempts mines and mining claims from taxation except for net proceeds and machinery used therein. However, the court held that this exemption did not apply when ownership rights are transferred or leased out completely with no reversionary interest retained by original owner i.e., if all beneficial interests have been passed on through lease or otherwise then such properties can be taxed by states like any other real estate property within their jurisdiction.

In the dissenting opinion for Burrell v. Montana, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a state law prohibiting corporations from employing Chinese immigrants violated both federal law and constitutional principles of equal protection. The dissenting justices believed that this discriminatory legislation unfairly targeted Chinese workers based on their race and nationality, which contradicted the Fourteenth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the laws. They also contended that such state-level restrictions were preempted by existing federal immigration policy, which allowed for unrestricted immigration from China at the time. Therefore, they concluded that Montana's anti-Chinese employment statute should have been struck down as unconstitutional and in conflict with federal law.