In the case of Hearne et al. v. Smylie, Governor of Idaho, et al., 1964, a group of taxpayers from Ada County in Idaho challenged the constitutionality of an act that allowed for the creation and funding of junior colleges by local school districts without state financial support. The plaintiffs argued that this violated their Fourteenth Amendment rights to equal protection under law because it resulted in unequal educational opportunities across different counties based on their varying abilities to fund these institutions. However, the Supreme Court dismissed this argument stating that there was no violation as education is primarily a matter for states to handle and not within federal jurisdiction unless there is clear discrimination or denial of basic rights which wasn't evident here.

In the dissenting opinion for Hearne et al. v. Smylie, Governor of Idaho, et al., Justice Douglas argued that the case should have been dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction rather than being decided on its merits. He contended that there was no substantial federal question involved in this dispute over state apportionment and therefore it did not fall under the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction as defined by Article III of the Constitution. Furthermore, he believed that even if such a question existed, it would be more appropriately handled by a three-judge district court panel rather than directly by the Supreme Court itself. In his view, bypassing lower courts in this manner could potentially undermine their authority and upset established judicial procedures.