In the 1902 case of Billings v. Illinois, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a conviction for illegal gambling based on evidence seized during an unlawful search and seizure. The defendant, Billings, argued that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated when police officers entered his home without a warrant and confiscated gaming equipment as evidence against him in court. However, the Supreme Court ruled that while such searches and seizures might be deemed unconstitutional under federal law, they did not necessarily violate state laws or constitute grounds for dismissing charges at the state level where this case was tried initially. This decision underscored states' rights to enforce their own criminal laws independently from federal constitutional constraints until Mapp v Ohio (1961) incorporated exclusionary rule to all levels of government.

In the dissenting opinion for Billings v. Illinois, Justice Harlan argued that the state law violated both due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. He contended that it was not within a state's power to arbitrarily determine what constitutes a crime without considering individual circumstances or intent. The law in question made it illegal to be found in a saloon where alcohol was sold, regardless of whether one had consumed any alcohol or even intended to do so. Harlan believed this blanket criminalization infringed upon personal liberties protected by the Constitution and unfairly targeted certain classes of people who may frequent such establishments for reasons other than drinking, like employees or individuals conducting business there. Furthermore, he criticized how enforcement relied on police discretion which could lead to abuses and discriminatory practices.