Thomas Jackson, a citizen of the state of Virginia, and others brought suit against Reverend William E. Ashton, a citizen of the State of Pennsylvania. The case was heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1837. At issue was whether or not citizens from one state could bring an action for libel against another citizen from another state in federal court when both states had laws that allowed such actions to be taken within their own borders. The Supreme Court held that it did not have jurisdiction over this matter as it involved two different states with conflicting laws on libel suits and thus fell outside its purview under Article III Section 2 Clause 1 of the Constitution which grants original jurisdiction only to cases between two or more states or involving foreign ambassadors and other public ministers. This decision established precedent for similar cases where there are conflicts between multiple jurisdictions regarding matters like tort law and contract disputes among private parties

In Thomas Jackson, et al. v. The Reverend William E. Ashton, the Supreme Court was asked to determine whether a citizen of one state could bring suit against another in a court of law located in yet another state. The majority opinion held that such an action was not permissible under the Constitution and laws of the United States as it would be contrary to principles established by Congress regarding diversity jurisdiction among states. However, Justice McLean dissented from this decision on two grounds: firstly, he argued that there were no constitutional or statutory provisions which prohibited citizens from different states bringing suits against each other; secondly, he contended that if such actions were indeed forbidden then it would create an inequality between citizens who resided within their own state and those who lived outside its borders since they could not seek redress for wrongs committed against them by persons living elsewhere without having to travel great distances at considerable expense and inconvenience - something which is antithetical to notions of justice enshrined in our nation's founding documents.