The U.S. Supreme Court case Missouri Pacific Railway Company v. State of Kansas in 1918 revolved around the issue of whether a state could regulate intrastate railroad rates without violating the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, which gives Congress power over interstate commerce. The Missouri Pacific Railway Company argued that Kansas's regulation interfered with interstate commerce and was therefore unconstitutional. However, the court ruled against them, upholding Kansas's right to regulate intrastate railway rates as long as it did not interfere with or burden interstate commerce excessively or discriminate against it unfairly. This decision affirmed states' rights to control local aspects of industries within their borders while maintaining federal oversight on matters affecting multiple states.

In the dissenting opinion for Missouri Pacific Railway Company v. State of Kansas, Justice Louis D. Brandeis argued that the court majority had overstepped its bounds by invalidating a state law without sufficient reason to do so. He contended that it was not within the purview of federal courts to question or interfere with a state's exercise of police power unless it clearly violated constitutional rights or federal laws. In this case, he believed there was no such violation and thus saw no grounds for striking down Kansas' statute regulating railway rates as unconstitutional under due process clause of Fourteenth Amendment. Furthermore, he emphasized that states should have broad latitude in addressing local problems and needs through legislation; if their solutions prove unwise or ineffective, they can be corrected through political processes rather than judicial intervention.