The U.S. Supreme Court case Norfolk & Western Railway Co. et al. v. Missouri State Tax Commission et al., 1967, involved a dispute over the valuation of railway properties for tax purposes in the state of Missouri. The Norfolk and Western Railway Company and other railroads argued that their property was being assessed at a higher rate than other commercial and residential properties, which they claimed violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause as well as federal statutes governing taxation of railroad property (49 U.S.C § 26). The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the railroads, finding that there was indeed discriminatory assessment against them by taxing their real estate at full value while most other real estate was taxed on an average basis only about half its true value.

In the dissenting opinion for Norfolk & Western Railway Co. v. Missouri State Tax Commission, Justice Harlan disagreed with the majority's decision that Missouri's method of taxing railroad property violated the Fourteenth Amendment. He argued that there was no clear evidence to suggest that railroads were being unfairly targeted or discriminated against in terms of taxation compared to other commercial and industrial properties within the state. Furthermore, he contended that it is not within the jurisdiction of federal courts to interfere with a state’s tax system unless there is explicit violation or discrimination present; such interference would undermine states' rights and autonomy in managing their own fiscal affairs.