In Herron v. Dater, the Supreme Court of the United States was asked to decide whether a state court had the authority to issue a writ of mandamus to compel a county auditor to issue a tax deed. The case arose when the plaintiff, Herron, purchased a tract of land from the county auditor of Hamilton County, Ohio. The county auditor refused to issue a tax deed for the property, claiming that the state statute authorizing the issuance of such deeds did not apply to the particular tract of land in question. The Supreme Court held that the state court did not have the authority to issue a writ of mandamus to compel the county auditor to issue a tax deed. The Court reasoned that the state statute authorizing the issuance of tax deeds was limited to certain types of land, and the particular tract of land in question did not fall within the scope of the statute. Therefore, the state court did not have the authority to issue a writ of mandamus to compel the county auditor to issue a tax deed. The Court also held that the county auditor was not liable for damages for refusing to issue the tax deed.

In Herron v. Dater, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a state court had jurisdiction over an action brought by a non-resident plaintiff against a resident defendant in which the cause of action arose outside of the state. The majority opinion held that such jurisdiction did not exist and reversed the judgment of the lower court. Justice Field dissented from this decision, arguing that it was contrary to established precedent and would lead to confusion among litigants as well as courts. He argued that if states were denied jurisdiction over cases involving non-residents where causes of action arose outside their borders, then they could be deprived of their right to protect their citizens from wrongs committed elsewhere or even within its own boundaries. Furthermore, he noted that there is no constitutional prohibition on states exercising such power when necessary for justice's sake; thus denying them this authority would be unjustified and unwise policymaking on behalf of Congress or any other body with legislative authority.