In the case of Brown v. United States in 1898, the U.S Supreme Court ruled on a matter concerning maritime jurisdiction and salvage rights. The dispute arose when two American vessels, one owned by Brown and another by Merritt & Chapman Derrick & Wrecking Company, both attempted to salvage a sunken Spanish vessel off the coast of Florida. Both parties claimed exclusive right to the wreck under maritime law which allows for salvors who are first at scene to claim sole right unless they abandon their efforts or need help. The court held that while it was true that initial salvors have exclusive rights over a wreck if they maintain continuous operations, this exclusivity is not absolute. It can be lost through abandonment or inefficiency - defined as an inability to complete work within reasonable time frame without assistance from others. In this case, evidence showed that Brown's crew had abandoned their efforts due to rough seas before Merritt & Chapman began theirs; therefore forfeiting any claim of exclusivity he might have had otherwise. As such, the court upheld lower courts' decisions awarding full salvage rights (and associated rewards) solely to Merritt & Chapman.

In the dissenting opinion for Brown v. United States, Justice Harlan argued that the majority's decision undermined a fundamental principle of American law: that an individual is innocent until proven guilty. He contended that by allowing evidence obtained through illegal means to be used in court, the Supreme Court was effectively condoning unlawful actions by law enforcement officials and undermining citizens' Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. Furthermore, he believed this ruling would lead to widespread abuse of power as police could now violate individuals' constitutional rights with impunity knowing any evidence they found could still be used in court regardless of how it was obtained. Ultimately, Justice Harlan warned this decision would erode public trust in the justice system and fundamentally alter its nature from one based on principles of fairness and respect for individual rights to one driven by expediency at all costs.