In Dubuclet v. Louisiana, the Supreme Court of the United States was asked to decide whether a Louisiana statute that prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages was constitutional. The statute in question provided that any person who sold alcoholic beverages without a license was guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine. The plaintiff, Dubuclet, argued that the statute violated the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, which guarantees the right to due process of law. Specifically, Dubuclet argued that the statute was overly broad and did not provide for any exceptions or defenses. The Supreme Court agreed with Dubuclet and held that the statute was unconstitutional. The Court reasoned that the statute was overly broad and did not provide for any exceptions or defenses. Furthermore, the Court noted that the statute did not provide for any means of determining whether a person was selling alcoholic beverages with or without a license. The Court concluded that the statute violated the Fourteenth Amendment and was therefore unconstitutional. As a result, the Court struck down the statute and declared it void.

Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in Dubuclet v. Louisiana, arguing that the majority's decision was contrary to both law and justice. He argued that although a state may have the right to pass laws for its own benefit, it cannot do so if those laws conflict with rights secured by federal law or treaties. In this case, he believed that Louisiana had violated Article IV of the Constitution which guarantees citizens of each state all privileges and immunities enjoyed by citizens of other states when they travel within them. The plaintiff was an African American citizen from Mississippi who traveled to New Orleans on business but was denied access to public accommodations due to his race; Justice Field felt this constituted discrimination against him based solely on his race and therefore violated Article IV as well as being unjust generally speaking. He concluded by stating that such discriminatory practices should not be allowed anywhere in America regardless of what any individual state might think is best for itself