Tennessee v. Davis was a United States Supreme Court case that addressed the issue of whether a state could be sued in a federal court. The case arose when the state of Tennessee sued a citizen of the state, Davis, in a federal court. The state argued that it had the right to sue in a federal court because it was a sovereign state. Davis argued that the state did not have the right to sue in a federal court because it was not a party to the Constitution. The Supreme Court held that the state of Tennessee did not have the right to sue in a federal court. The Court reasoned that the Constitution did not give the state the right to sue in a federal court because it was not a party to the Constitution. The Court also noted that the state was not a party to the Constitution because it had not ratified it. The Court concluded that the state of Tennessee did not have the right to sue in a federal court and that the suit must be dismissed.

In the case of Tennessee v. Davis, Justice Field delivered a dissenting opinion that argued against the majority's decision to reverse and remand the judgment of the Circuit Court. He believed that there was no error in law or fact committed by this court, as it had correctly applied existing precedent when deciding on its ruling. Furthermore, he felt that Congress did not have authority to pass legislation which would alter state boundaries without first obtaining consent from both states involved - something which had not been done in this particular instance. As such, he concluded that Congress could not constitutionally interfere with matters concerning boundary lines between two states unless they were given permission by both parties beforehand; thus making any attempt at altering them invalid and unconstitutional.