In Crocket v. Lee, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a state court had no jurisdiction to hear an action brought by a citizen of another state against a resident of their own state. The case arose when William Crocket, who was from North Carolina, sued Thomas Lee in South Carolina for debt collection. The South Carolina court dismissed the suit on grounds that it lacked jurisdiction over non-residents and citizens of other states. On appeal to the US Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Marshall held that under Article III Section 2 Clause 1 (the "diversity clause") of the Constitution, only federal courts have original jurisdiction over cases between citizens or residents from different states; thus any decision made by a state court would be void if it did not comply with this provision. This ruling established precedent for future cases involving diversity jurisdiction and has been cited numerous times since then as authority for similar decisions regarding interstate disputes in federal courts

In Crocket v. Lee, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a state court had jurisdiction over a case involving two citizens of different states. The majority opinion held that the state court did not have jurisdiction because it violated Article III of the Constitution which grants exclusive federal judicial power in cases between citizens of different states. However, Justice Johnson dissented from this decision and argued that while Congress has authority to regulate interstate commerce under Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the Constitution (the Commerce Clause), they do not have any authority over civil suits between individuals unless specifically granted by an act or treaty. He further argued that since there is no such act or treaty granting Congress such power in this case then it should be left up to each individual state's courts to determine their own jurisdictional boundaries when deciding disputes between its own citizens and those from other states.