In the 1930 case of Stratton, Secretary of State of Illinois v. St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of the railway company. The dispute arose when Illinois attempted to tax a railroad bridge that crossed over from Missouri into Illinois as part of its property taxation laws. However, since only half the bridge was located within state lines and it was not used for commercial purposes but solely for interstate commerce (which is under federal jurisdiction), it could not be subjected to local or state taxes according to previous court rulings on similar matters. Therefore, the Supreme Court held that taxing such properties would interfere with interstate commerce and violate constitutional principles regarding states' rights versus federal authority.

In the dissenting opinion for Stratton v. St. Louis Southwestern Railway Company, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold an Illinois statute requiring foreign corporations to consent to service of process in suits arising from any business transacted within the state was a violation of due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. The dissent contended that this requirement placed an undue burden on interstate commerce and exceeded states' jurisdictional authority by effectively forcing out-of-state companies into submission regardless of whether they had sufficient contacts with Illinois or not. It further asserted that such broad interpretation would allow states to impose their laws onto other jurisdictions, undermining federalism principles and creating potential conflicts between different state laws.