In Grand Trunk Railway Company v. Walker, the Supreme Court of the United States was asked to decide whether a state statute that imposed a tax on railroad companies was constitutional. The statute in question imposed a tax on the gross receipts of railroad companies operating in the state. The railroad company argued that the tax was unconstitutional because it violated the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. The Supreme Court held that the tax was constitutional. The Court reasoned that the tax was not a burden on interstate commerce because it was imposed on the gross receipts of the railroad company, not on the goods or services that it transported across state lines. The Court also noted that the tax was imposed on all railroad companies operating in the state, regardless of whether they were engaged in interstate commerce. The Court concluded that the tax was a valid exercise of the state's power to tax and did not violate the Commerce Clause. The Court also noted that the tax was not discriminatory and did not place an undue burden on interstate commerce. As such, the Court held that the tax was constitutional.

Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in Grand Trunk Railway Company v. Walker, arguing that the court should have reversed the decision of the Circuit Court and found for the plaintiff. He argued that under Michigan law, a railway company was liable to pay damages for injuries caused by its negligence even if it had taken all reasonable precautions against such an occurrence. Justice Field further noted that while there may be some cases where contributory negligence on behalf of a passenger would bar recovery, this case did not present any evidence of such conduct on behalf of Mr. Walker and thus he should be entitled to recover his damages from Grand Trunk Railway Company as provided by Michigan law. In conclusion, Justice Field believed that since no fault could be attributed to Mr. Walker in causing his injury due to Grand Trunk's negligence, he should receive full compensation for his losses as provided by state statute regardless of whether or not they took all reasonable precautions against such an event occurring