In the 1932 case of Interstate Commerce Commission v. United States ex rel. Campbell et al., the U.S Supreme Court ruled on a dispute involving railroad rates and their regulation by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). The ICC had approved an increase in freight rates proposed by several railroads, but this decision was challenged by shippers who claimed that it violated federal law because it would result in unreasonable and discriminatory charges. The Supreme Court held that while courts could review decisions made by administrative agencies like the ICC, they should defer to those agencies' expertise unless there is clear error or violation of law. In this case, since there was no evidence showing that ICC's approval of rate increases was clearly erroneous or unlawful, its decision must be upheld.

In the dissenting opinion for Interstate Commerce Commission v. United States ex rel. Campbell et al., Justice Stone argued that the majority's decision to allow a railroad company to abandon its line without approval from the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) undermined federal control over interstate commerce. He contended that Congress had granted authority to ICC not only in public interest but also as an instrument of national policy, and this power should extend beyond mere regulation of rates and practices, including decisions about abandonment or discontinuance of service by carriers engaged in interstate commerce. The justice believed that allowing railroads unilateral discretion could lead to harmful consequences such as disruption in services critical for communities they serve, which would be contrary to public convenience and necessity - a standard set by Congress itself while granting powers to ICC.