This Supreme Court case involves the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Mobile as plaintiffs in error, and William E. Hallett, executor of Joshua Kennedy, deceased as defendant in error. The dispute is over a debt owed to the city by Kennedy prior to his death that was not paid before he passed away. The question at hand is whether or not this debt should be considered an asset for purposes of inheritance tax assessment on behalf of Hallett's estate. The court ultimately ruled that debts due from a decedent are assets subject to taxation when determining inheritance taxes for an estate; therefore, Hallett must pay any applicable taxes on this particular debt owed by Kennedy upon his passing.

In the case of The Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Mobile v. William E. Hallett, Executor of Joshua Kennedy, Deceased, the dissenting opinion argued that a municipal corporation has no authority to levy taxes on private property for public purposes without legislative authorization. This was in direct opposition to the majority opinion which held that such taxation could be done under general police power granted by state constitutions or statutes. The dissent further argued that if municipalities were allowed to tax private property for public use without any legal basis then it would lead to an abuse of power and unjustly burden citizens with excessive taxation. Furthermore, they contended that allowing this type of taxation would violate fundamental principles established by common law as well as constitutional rights protecting individuals from arbitrary government action.