In the 1952 case of Dameron v. Brodhead, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of a taxpayer who challenged his property tax assessment. The plaintiff, Dameron, argued that he was unfairly taxed because his property was assessed at full value while other properties were assessed at less than their full value. He claimed this violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment which guarantees all citizens equal protection under law and prohibits states from denying any person within its jurisdiction equal protection under law. The court agreed with Dameron's argument and held that if there is intentional systematic undervaluation by state officials of other taxable property in same class as plaintiff's then it would constitute discriminatory taxation forbidden by Equal Protection Clause.

In the dissenting opinion for Dameron v. Brodhead, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a tax assessment on property owned by Dameron in Denver, Colorado was incorrect. The dissenting justices believed that the city had unfairly assessed Dameron's property at a higher value than similar properties in order to make up for revenue lost due to under-assessments elsewhere. They contended this violated his constitutional rights of equal protection and due process under law as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. Furthermore, they disagreed with the majority’s view that state courts should handle such matters; instead asserting federal courts have jurisdiction over cases involving alleged violations of constitutional rights regardless of whether those allegations involve state taxation issues or not.