Wilmington Railroad v. Reid, Sheriff was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1871. The case involved a dispute between the Wilmington Railroad Company and the Sheriff of New Hanover County, North Carolina. The railroad company had been granted a charter by the state of North Carolina to construct a railroad line through the county. The sheriff had attempted to collect taxes from the company for the construction of the line, but the company argued that the taxes were unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the railroad company, holding that the taxes were unconstitutional. The Court reasoned that the taxes were a form of taking of private property without just compensation, which was prohibited by the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Court also held that the state of North Carolina had no authority to impose taxes on the railroad company, as the company had been granted a charter by the state. The decision in Wilmington Railroad v. Reid, Sheriff was an important victory for the railroad company, as it established that the state of North Carolina could not impose taxes on the company without just compensation. The decision also established that the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibited the taking of private property without just compensation.

In the case of Wilmington Railroad v. Reid, Sheriff, the Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a sheriff could levy an execution against a railroad company for taxes due to a county. The majority opinion held that such executions were not permissible under state law and thus denied relief to the sheriff in this instance. Justice Field dissented from this ruling, arguing that while it may be true that no express authority existed within state law allowing for such levies against railroads, there was nothing preventing them either. He further argued that if states had intended to exempt railroads from taxation they would have done so explicitly rather than leaving it up to interpretation by courts or other authorities. As such he concluded that sheriffs should be allowed to execute on railroad property when necessary in order collect taxes owed by those companies as any other taxpayer would be required do so as well.