In the case of Hopkins et al. v. Walker et al., 1916, the U.S Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a state law that allowed for the confiscation and sale of property to satisfy tax debts violated due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. The appellants were owners of land in Louisiana who had failed to pay their taxes, resulting in their properties being seized and sold by local authorities as per state law. They argued this action constituted an unlawful taking without proper notice or opportunity for hearing, thus violating their constitutional rights. The court ruled against them stating that it is within a state's power to enforce such laws as long as they do not infringe upon federal authority or violate fundamental principles of liberty and justice embodied in the Constitution. It held that due process does not necessarily require judicial proceedings before seizure can occur; rather it requires only reasonable notification and opportunity for any necessary contestation prior to deprivation of property.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Hopkins et al. v. Walker et al., argued that the majority's decision to uphold a state law requiring railroads to provide separate but equal accommodations for black and white passengers was fundamentally flawed. The dissenters believed that this ruling violated the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees all citizens equal protection under the law, by endorsing racial segregation as a legal practice. They contended that such laws were inherently unequal because they stigmatized African Americans as inferior and unworthy of sharing public spaces with whites, thereby perpetuating harmful stereotypes and social divisions based on race. Furthermore, they pointed out inconsistencies in how these laws were applied; for instance, no similar provisions existed for other forms of transportation like streetcars or steamboats where people also traveled together in close quarters.