Dobbins's Distillery v. United States was a United States Supreme Court case that addressed the issue of whether the federal government had the authority to impose taxes on distilled spirits. The case was brought by Dobbins's Distillery, a distillery located in Pennsylvania, which argued that the federal government did not have the authority to impose taxes on distilled spirits. The Supreme Court held that the federal government did have the authority to impose taxes on distilled spirits, and that the tax imposed by the federal government was constitutional. The Court reasoned that the federal government had the power to impose taxes on distilled spirits under the Necessary and Proper Clause of the Constitution, which grants Congress the power to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying out its enumerated powers. The Court also held that the tax imposed by the federal government was not an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce, as the tax was imposed uniformly on all distilled spirits, regardless of their origin. The Court's decision in this case established the federal government's authority to impose taxes on distilled spirits.

Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in Dobbins's Distillery v. United States, arguing that the tax imposed by Congress was unconstitutional and violated the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. He argued that it was a direct tax on property, which is prohibited under Article I Section 9 of the Constitution. Furthermore, he asserted that this type of taxation could not be justified as an excise or duty because it did not depend upon any act or omission by those taxed; rather, it depended solely upon ownership of property at a certain time and place. He also noted that if such taxes were allowed to stand then Congress would have unlimited power over individuals' private property without their consent - something expressly forbidden by both state constitutions and federal law. Finally, Justice Field concluded his dissent with an argument against double taxation: since distillers had already paid taxes on their whiskey before selling it to consumers (in addition to other fees), they should not be subject to additional taxes when they sold their product for profit.