In County of Cass v. Gillett, 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 plaintiff, Gillett, had been injured when his horse and wagon fell through a bridge that had been built by the county. Gillett argued that the county was liable for his injuries because it had failed to properly maintain the bridge. The Supreme Court held that the county was not liable for Gillett's injuries. The Court reasoned that the county had not been negligent in its maintenance of the bridge, and that the bridge had been built in accordance with the law. Furthermore, the Court noted that the county had no duty to inspect the bridge, and that the county was not responsible for any defects that may have existed in the bridge. In conclusion, the Supreme Court held that the county was not liable for Gillett's injuries, and that Gillett could not recover damages from the county. The Court's decision established that counties are not liable for damages caused by defective bridges unless they have been negligent in their maintenance of the bridge.

Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in County of Cass v. Gillett, arguing that the majority's decision was contrary to both law and justice. He argued that a state statute which authorized counties to issue bonds for public improvements did not authorize them to pledge their credit or property as security for such bonds; rather, it only allowed them to levy taxes on citizens within their jurisdiction in order to pay off those debts. Furthermore, he argued that even if this were not true, the county had no authority under its charter from Congress or any other source of power over its own affairs and finances with which it could bind itself by contract. As such, Justice Field concluded that there was no legal basis upon which the court could enforce payment of these bonds against either the county or its taxpayers without violating fundamental principles of constitutional government and due process of law.