Smith v. Bourbon County is a United States Supreme Court case that was decided in 1887. The case involved a dispute between the Bourbon County Board of Education and the plaintiff, Smith, over the payment of a school teacher's salary. Smith had been hired as a teacher in the county and was promised a salary of $50 per month. However, the Board of Education refused to pay Smith the full amount, claiming that the county was unable to pay the full amount due to financial difficulties. Smith then sued the Board of Education for breach of contract. The Supreme Court held that the Board of Education was liable for the full amount of the salary due to Smith. The Court reasoned that the Board of Education had entered into a contract with Smith and was therefore obligated to fulfill its terms. The Court also noted that the Board of Education had not provided any evidence that the county was unable to pay the full amount due to financial difficulties. As a result, the Court held that the Board of Education was liable for the full amount of the salary due to Smith.

Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in Smith v. Bourbon County, arguing that the majority's decision was incorrect and should be reversed. He argued that it was not necessary to decide whether or not a state court had jurisdiction over a case involving citizens of different states when deciding on an appeal from such a judgment. Instead, he asserted that the Supreme Court should have considered whether or not there were any errors made by the lower court in its application of federal law which would warrant reversing their decision. Justice Field further contended that since no error had been shown to exist, then there was no reason for this Court to interfere with the judgement of another tribunal established under authority of Congress and exercising lawful power within its own sphere. In conclusion, he stated his belief that if any errors did exist they could be corrected by proper proceedings before other tribunals instead of through an appellate review by this Court without jurisdiction over such matters as presented here.