Lane County v. Oregon was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1868. The case involved a dispute between Lane County, Oregon and the state of Oregon over the taxation of certain lands. Lane County argued that the state had no authority to tax the lands in question, as they were owned by the federal government. The state of Oregon argued that it had the right to tax the lands, as they were within its jurisdiction. The Supreme Court ultimately sided with the state of Oregon, ruling that the state had the right to tax the lands in question. The Court reasoned that the federal government had no authority to interfere with the state's taxation of the lands, as the lands were within the state's jurisdiction. The Court also noted that the state had the right to tax the lands in order to raise revenue for public purposes. The decision in Lane County v. Oregon established the principle that states have the right to tax lands within their jurisdiction, even if those lands are owned by the federal government. This decision has been cited in numerous cases since, and has been used to support the principle that states have the right to tax lands within their jurisdiction.

In Lane County v. Oregon, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a state law that imposed taxes on certain real estate transactions violated the Contract Clause of the United States Constitution. The majority opinion held that it did not violate this clause because it applied equally to all citizens and did not interfere with existing contracts or impair their obligations. However, Justice Field dissented from this decision, arguing that while taxation is necessary for government operations, such taxes should be reasonable and limited in scope so as not to unduly burden individuals or businesses. He argued further that since this tax was imposed after many of these contracts were already made and relied upon by both parties involved in them, its imposition would effectively nullify those agreements which would constitute an unconstitutional impairment of contract rights under Article I Section 10 of the US Constitution.