In Memphis v. Brown, the United States Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a city could be held liable for damages caused by a defective street. The city of Memphis had constructed a street that was in a state of disrepair, and a wagon driven by a man named Brown had been damaged as a result. Brown sued the city for damages, and the Supreme Court had to decide whether the city could be held liable. The Court held that the city could be held liable for damages caused by its defective street. The Court reasoned that the city had a duty to maintain its streets in a safe condition, and that it had breached this duty by allowing the street to become defective. The Court also held that the city was liable for the damages caused by the defective street, even though the city had not been negligent in its construction or maintenance of the street. The Court's decision in Memphis v. Brown established that cities can be held liable for damages caused by their defective streets. This decision has been cited in numerous cases since then, and it has been used to establish the principle that cities have a duty to maintain their streets in a safe condition.

In Memphis v. Brown, the United States Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a city ordinance that prohibited African Americans from living within certain parts of the city violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. The majority opinion held that it did not violate this clause because it applied equally to all races and thus did not discriminate against any particular race or group of people. However, in his dissenting opinion Justice Field argued that while the ordinance may have been facially neutral, its practical effect was to create an unequal burden on African Americans by forcing them into overcrowded areas and denying them access to better housing opportunities available elsewhere in the city. He further argued that such discrimination should be considered unconstitutional under both federal law and common sense principles of justice.