The U.S. Supreme Court case Arkansas Southern Railway Company v. Louisiana and Arkansas Railway Company in 1910 revolved around a dispute between two railway companies over land rights for constructing their respective railroads. The plaintiff, the Arkansas Southern Railway Company, claimed that it had obtained permission from Congress to construct its railroad through certain lands in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), which were also claimed by the defendant, the Louisiana and Arkansas Railway Company. The latter company argued that they had already been granted these same land rights by an earlier act of Congress and thus held superior claim to them. The court ruled in favor of the Louisiana & Arkansas Railway Co., stating that their grant was indeed prior to that of the other company's, thereby giving them superior right to build on those lands under federal law. Furthermore, it clarified that any subsequent grants made by Congress would not affect or diminish previously established ones unless explicitly stated otherwise.

In the dissenting opinion for Arkansas Southern Railway Company v. Louisiana and Arkansas Railway Company, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling favoring Louisiana and Arkansas Railway Company was incorrect. The dissenters believed that there were significant errors in the original trial which should have resulted in a retrial or reversal of judgment. They pointed out inconsistencies in witness testimonies, as well as questionable legal interpretations by the presiding judge during trial proceedings. Furthermore, they disagreed with how certain evidence had been handled and presented to jurors - arguing this could have influenced their final verdict unfairly against Arkansas Southern Railway Company. Ultimately, these justices felt that due process had not been properly served; hence their disagreement with upholding an unjust ruling.