In the case of Hump Hairpin Manufacturing Company v. Emmerson, Secretary of State of Illinois in 1921, the Supreme Court examined whether a corporation's due process rights were violated by an Illinois law that required corporations to pay an annual franchise tax based on their capital stock value. The Hump Hairpin Manufacturing Company argued that this was unconstitutional as it amounted to double taxation since they also had to pay property taxes. However, the court ruled against them stating that there was no violation of due process or equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment because states have broad powers in determining how they levy and collect taxes from businesses operating within their borders. They further clarified that while corporations are protected by certain constitutional provisions, these protections do not extend to immunity from state taxation laws unless such laws are unreasonable or discriminatory.

In the dissenting opinion for Hump Hairpin Manufacturing Company v. Emmerson, it was argued that the Illinois statute in question did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause as claimed by the majority. The dissenting justices believed that there was a reasonable basis for distinguishing between foreign and domestic corporations under state law, given their differing relationships with and obligations to the state government. They also disagreed with the majority's interpretation of what constituted "doing business" within a state, arguing that selling products through independent contractors should indeed be considered such activity subject to taxation. Furthermore, they contended that even if this were not true, any potential unfairness or inequality resulting from this definition would be an issue for legislative correction rather than judicial intervention.