In Carter County v. Sinton, the Supreme Court of the United States was asked to decide whether a county could be held liable for damages caused by a defective bridge. The bridge in question was built by the county and was located on a public road. The plaintiff, Sinton, was injured when his wagon fell through the bridge due to its defective condition. The Supreme Court held that the county was liable for the damages caused by the defective bridge. The Court reasoned that the county had a duty to maintain the bridge in a safe condition and that it had failed to do so. The Court also noted that the county had received funds from the state to build and maintain the bridge, and that it had a duty to use those funds to ensure the bridge was safe. The Court concluded that the county was liable for the damages caused by the defective bridge and that Sinton was entitled to recover damages from the county. This decision established that counties can be held liable for damages caused by defective bridges that they have built and maintained.

Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in Carter County v. Sinton, arguing that the majority's decision was wrong and should be reversed. He argued that a county cannot be held liable for damages caused by its officers' negligence or wrongful acts unless it has expressly authorized them to do so. In this case, he noted, there was no evidence of any such authorization from Carter County; thus, it could not be held responsible for the actions of its officers. Furthermore, Justice Field argued that even if an officer had been acting within his authority when committing a negligent act or omission resulting in damage to another person or property, liability would still rest with him rather than with the county itself. As such, he concluded that Carter County should not have been found liable and urged reversal of the judgment against it on appeal.