The Common Council of Alexandria v. Preston was a case brought before the United States Supreme Court in 1814. The dispute centered around whether or not the City of Alexandria had authority to impose taxes on certain goods imported into its port by William Preston, who argued that only Congress could levy such taxes and that any attempt by the city to do so would be unconstitutional. In an opinion written by Chief Justice John Marshall, the court held that while Congress did have exclusive power over imports and exports under Article I Section 8 Clause 3 of the Constitution, it also gave states concurrent powers with respect to taxation within their own borders as long as they did not interfere with federal laws or regulations. Therefore, since there was no conflict between state and federal law in this instance, it was determined that Alexandria had authority to tax goods imported into its port without violating constitutional principles.

In The Common Council of Alexandria v. Preston, the dissenting opinion argued that the court should not have dismissed the case without a hearing on its merits. The majority had held that because Preston was an officer of Congress and therefore immune from suit in state courts, there was no jurisdiction to hear it. However, Justice Johnson dissented and argued that while officers of Congress may be exempt from certain suits in state courts, this does not mean they are completely immune from all actions brought against them by states or their citizens. He further noted that if such immunity were granted then any wrongs committed by federal officers would go unpunished as they could never be sued for damages caused by their actions. Therefore he concluded that since this case involved a dispute between two private parties over property rights rather than any action taken under authority of Congress, it should have been heard on its merits instead of being dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction