In the 1923 case Brady, Widow, etc. v. Work, Secretary of the Interior et al., the United States Supreme Court dealt with a dispute over land rights in Alaska. The plaintiff was Mary E. Brady who claimed that she had acquired title to certain lands under an Act of Congress from May 17th, 1884 which provided for townsite entries in Alaska by virtue of her late husband's settlement and improvements on said lands prior to July 14th, 1898 when they were reserved for military purposes by Presidential proclamation. The defendants argued that Mrs. Brady could not establish valid claim as her husband did not fulfill requirements set forth by law before his death nor did he leave any heirs other than herself or make any conveyance concerning these lands during his lifetime. The court ruled against Mrs.Brady stating that there is no provision in this act allowing widows to initiate or perfect their deceased spouse’s claims unless it has been specifically bequeathed through will or inheritance laws applicable at time of decedent’s death.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Brady v. Work, Secretary of the Interior, et al., argued that Mrs. Brady should have been allowed to maintain her homestead claim on land originally settled by her late husband. The majority ruled against Mrs. Brady based on a technicality: she had not personally lived on and cultivated the land for five years as required by law because she was living elsewhere with their children while Mr. Brady worked the claim until his death from illness just short of five years into it. The dissenting justices believed this interpretation was too narrow and failed to consider human factors such as family circumstances and health issues which prevented Mr. Brady from completing his obligation under normal conditions; they felt these factors should be taken into account when determining whether or not someone has met residency requirements for maintaining a homestead claim.