The U.S. Supreme Court case Railroad Commission of Louisiana v. Texas and Pacific Railway Company in 1912 revolved around a dispute over interstate commerce regulations and the power of state commissions to regulate rates for railroads that cross state lines. The Railroad Commission of Louisiana had set certain freight rates which the Texas and Pacific Railway Company argued were discriminatory, violating both federal law under the Interstate Commerce Act as well as their Fourteenth Amendment rights by depriving them of property without due process. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the railway company, stating that while states have some authority to regulate businesses within their borders, they cannot interfere with interstate commerce or create laws that conflict with federal legislation on such matters. This decision reinforced the supremacy clause in relation to interstate commerce regulation.

In the dissenting opinion for the case of Railroad Commission of Louisiana v. Texas and Pacific Railway Company, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a state regulation requiring railroads to provide equal facilities for interstate and intrastate commerce infringed upon federal authority over interstate commerce. The dissenting justices believed that this ruling could potentially lead to conflicting regulations from different states, creating an untenable situation for railroad companies operating across state lines. They contended that only Congress has the constitutional power to regulate interstate commerce, not individual states. Therefore, they disagreed with the majority's interpretation of what constitutes unreasonable discrimination under Interstate Commerce Act as well as their assertion that providing separate but equal services does not constitute such discrimination.