Norton v. Board of Commissioners of the Taxing District of Brownsville was a Supreme Court case from 1891. The case involved a dispute between the Taxing District of Brownsville and the plaintiff, Norton, over the taxation of certain property owned by Norton. The Taxing District had assessed a tax on the property, which Norton refused to pay. Norton argued that the tax was unconstitutional, as it was not authorized by the state legislature. The Supreme Court ultimately sided with Norton, ruling that the Taxing District had no authority to impose the tax. The Court held that the Taxing District was not authorized to impose taxes on property, as it was not a state agency. The Court also held that the Taxing District had no authority to impose taxes on property without the approval of the state legislature. The decision in Norton v. Board of Commissioners of the Taxing District of Brownsville established that local governments cannot impose taxes on property without the approval of the state legislature. This decision has been cited in numerous subsequent cases involving taxation disputes.

In the dissenting opinion of Norton v. Board of Commissioners of the Taxing District of Brownsville, Justice Field argued that Congress had no authority to pass a law allowing citizens to sue states in federal court. He believed that such an act would be unconstitutional and violate the Tenth Amendment which reserves all powers not delegated to the United States government for state governments or individuals. Furthermore, he argued that it was up to each individual state’s legislature and courts—not Congress—to decide how disputes between private parties should be resolved within their own borders. As such, he concluded that any attempt by Congress to grant citizens access to federal courts when suing states would be an unconstitutional usurpation of power from those same states as well as a violation of due process rights guaranteed under both Article IV and XIV Amendments.