Daviess County v. Dickinson was a United States Supreme Court case that addressed the issue of whether a county could be held liable for damages caused by a defective bridge. The case arose when a man named Dickinson was injured while crossing a bridge in Daviess County, Missouri. Dickinson sued the county for damages, claiming that the bridge was in a state of disrepair and that the county was negligent in maintaining it. The Supreme Court held that the county could be held liable for 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 breached that duty by failing to do so. The Court also noted that the county had received notice of the bridge's condition and had failed to take any action to remedy it. As a result, the Court held that the county was liable for Dickinson's injuries. The Court's decision in Daviess County v. Dickinson established that counties can be held liable for damages caused by defective bridges. This decision has been cited in numerous subsequent cases, and it has been used to support the idea that counties have a duty to maintain public infrastructure in a safe condition.

Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in Daviess County v. Dickinson, arguing that the majority's decision was contrary to both precedent and sound public policy. He argued that a state cannot be held liable for damages caused by its own negligence, as this would lead to an increase in taxes or other forms of taxation on citizens who had no part in causing the damage. Furthermore, he noted that if states were allowed to be sued for their own negligence then it could open up a floodgate of litigation against them which could have serious implications for their ability to govern effectively and efficiently. Finally, Justice Field argued that allowing such suits would also undermine the principle of sovereign immunity which has been established since ancient times and is still recognized today as one of our most fundamental legal principles.