In the case of Ebert et al. v. Poston, 1924, the United States Supreme Court was asked to consider whether a state law that required all public school teachers in Georgia to be white violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. The plaintiffs were African-American teachers who had been dismissed from their positions due to this law and sought reinstatement and back pay. The defendants argued that separate but equal facilities for black students satisfied constitutional requirements. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, finding that while states have broad powers over education, they cannot discriminate on grounds of race under guise of exercising those powers. It held that dismissing qualified black teachers solely because they are not white constituted an arbitrary deprivation of property without due process and denied them equal protection under laws guaranteed by Fourteenth Amendment. This decision marked one step towards dismantling segregation policies prevalent during early 20th century America; however it did not directly challenge 'separate but equal' doctrine which would only be overturned three decades later with Brown v Board Education ruling.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Ebert et al. v. Poston argued that the majority's decision was a departure from established legal principles regarding property rights and taxation. The dissent contended that the tax assessment on Ebert's land, which had been increased due to its proximity to public improvements, was unjustified as it did not take into account whether or not he derived any special benefits from these improvements. It further asserted that such an increase constituted an unlawful taking of private property without just compensation, violating constitutional protections against such actions. The dissent also criticized the majority for failing to provide clear guidelines on how future assessments should be made under similar circumstances.