Coleman v. Tennessee was a United States Supreme Court case that addressed the issue of whether a state could be held liable for damages caused by a state employee. The case arose when a Tennessee state employee, Coleman, was injured while working on a state-owned bridge. Coleman sued the state of Tennessee for damages, claiming that the state was negligent in its maintenance of the bridge. The Supreme Court held that the state of Tennessee could not be held liable for damages caused by its employees. The Court reasoned that the state was not liable because it had not been negligent in its maintenance of the bridge. The Court also noted that the state had not assumed any responsibility for the safety of its employees. The Court's decision in Coleman v. Tennessee established the principle that states are not liable for damages caused by their employees. This principle has been applied in numerous cases since then, and it has been used to protect states from liability for damages caused by their employees.

Justice Field wrote the dissenting opinion in Coleman v. Tennessee, arguing that the state of Tennessee had violated the Fourteenth Amendment by denying a black man his right to a fair trial. He argued that it was unconstitutional for the court to allow testimony from witnesses who were not present at trial and whose credibility could not be tested through cross-examination. Furthermore, he argued that allowing such evidence would lead to an unfair advantage for prosecutors over defendants since they would have access to more information than what is presented in court. Justice Field also noted that there was no precedent or legal authority supporting this decision and thus concluded it should be overturned on appeal as being contrary to due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment.