In the 1898 case Gunnison County Commissioners v. Rollins, the U.S Supreme Court ruled on a dispute between Colorado's Gunnison County and its former treasurer, J.W. Rollins. The county had sued Rollins for alleged misappropriation of funds during his tenure as treasurer from 1883 to 1887. However, the court found that there was no evidence to support these allegations and dismissed them entirely. The key issue in this case revolved around whether or not interest collected by Rollins on deposits made with banks should have been turned over to the county treasury under state law at that time. The court determined that while it would be good policy for such interest to go into public coffers rather than being kept by individual officers like treasurers, existing Colorado law did not require this. Therefore, despite any moral arguments about what should happen with such money in an ideal world, legally speaking Mr.Rollin was within his rights according to then-current laws of Colorado State when he retained those interests himself instead of turning them over to Gunnison County’s treasury department.

In the dissenting opinion for Gunnison County Commissioners v. Rollins, the justice argued that Colorado law should govern in this case rather than federal law. The majority's decision to apply federal law was seen as an overreach of their jurisdiction and a violation of states' rights. The dissenting justice believed that the county had not violated any constitutional provisions or laws by taxing mining claims, which were considered real property under state law. They also disagreed with the majority's interpretation of "possessory right," arguing it did not equate to ownership but merely represented a claimant’s exclusive right to possession and enjoyment against others except for those who have superior title rights. Therefore, they contended that such possessory interests could be taxed without infringing upon federal authority or violating due process rights.