In the case of William H. Belcher and Charles Belcher v. William A. Linn, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a deed from an executor of a will could be considered valid if it had not been approved by the court overseeing probate proceedings for that estate. The plaintiffs argued that such deeds were invalid because they lacked judicial approval, while defendant contended that no such approval was necessary in order for them to be legally binding documents. After considering both sides' arguments, the Supreme Court ultimately sided with defendant and held that deeds executed by an executor without prior court approval are still valid as long as they meet all other legal requirements under state law at the time of execution.

In the case of William H. Belcher and Charles Belcher v. William A. Linn, the dissenting opinion argued that although a contract had been made between the parties in which it was agreed that certain land would be conveyed to them by Linn, this agreement did not constitute an absolute sale or conveyance of title as there were still conditions attached to its completion such as payment for taxes due on the property and obtaining a patent from Congress for it. The dissent further argued that since these conditions had not yet been fulfilled, no legal title could pass until they were met and thus any action taken against Linn prior to their satisfaction should fail as he was still legally entitled to possession of said land at all times during this process.