In the case of Baker v. Cummings in 1900, the United States Supreme Court ruled on a dispute involving property rights and inheritance laws. The plaintiff, Baker, claimed that he was entitled to certain properties under his father's will which had been previously sold by an executor to pay off debts. However, these sales were made without court approval or public notice as required by law at that time. Therefore, Baker argued they were invalid and he should regain possession of those properties. The defendant Cummings held one such property purchased from the executor in good faith and argued for its retention based on this fact alone. The Supreme Court sided with Cummings stating that even though there might have been irregularities in how the estate was managed initially; it did not necessarily mean all actions taken (like selling assets) were automatically voided. Furthermore, since no fraud or collusion was proven against Cummings who bought one of those assets unaware of any potential issues related to its sale; he could not be penalized for others' mistakes or omissions during probate proceedings prior to his purchase.

The dissenting opinion in the Baker v. Cummings case argued that the majority's decision was a misinterpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment, specifically its equal protection clause. The dissenters believed that this amendment did not provide for absolute equality but rather prohibited unreasonable and arbitrary discrimination by law. They contended that it was within states' rights to make reasonable classifications among their citizens for legislative purposes, as long as these classifications were based on some real and substantial difference bearing a just relation to things upon which legislation is appropriate or necessary. In this particular case, they felt that Colorado had made such a classification when it passed laws allowing only women to vote in school elections - an action justified by women's unique role and interest in education matters due to their position as mothers and primary caregivers of children.