In the 1900 case of Bird v. United States, the Supreme Court ruled on a dispute involving fishing rights in Alaskan waters. The defendant, Mr. Bird, was charged with violating an Act of Congress that prohibited non-natives from fishing for salmon in Alaska's rivers and tributaries without a license or permit issued by the Secretary of Treasury. Mr. Bird argued that he had not violated any laws because he fished in bays and waterways which were navigable from the sea and therefore considered high seas under international law where anyone could fish freely regardless of nationality. The Supreme Court disagreed with his interpretation, ruling instead that these bodies of water fell within U.S jurisdiction as they were located within three miles off its coast - a distance recognized internationally as part of a country’s territorial waters at that time (the limit has since been extended to twelve nautical miles). Therefore, U.S laws applied there including those requiring permits for commercial fishing activities like catching salmon. This decision affirmed federal control over fisheries resources within American territory while also clarifying how far offshore such authority extends according to international norms.

In the dissenting opinion for Bird v. United States, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a conviction based on evidence obtained through an illegal search and seizure violated the Fourth Amendment rights of the defendant. The dissenting justices believed that any evidence obtained in this manner should be excluded from trial as "fruit of the poisonous tree." They contended that allowing such evidence would undermine citizens' constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures, thereby encouraging law enforcement officials to disregard these fundamental rights in their pursuit of convictions. Furthermore, they expressed concern about setting a dangerous precedent where courts could potentially condone unlawful police conduct by admitting illegally procured evidence into court proceedings.