Carpenter v. Williams was a United States Supreme Court case in 1869. The case involved a dispute between two parties over a contract for the sale of a piece of land. The plaintiff, Carpenter, had entered into a contract with the defendant, Williams, to purchase a piece of land for a certain sum of money. Williams had agreed to pay the purchase price in installments, but failed to do so. Carpenter then sued Williams for breach of contract. The Supreme Court held that Williams was liable for breach of contract. The Court found that Williams had failed to fulfill his obligations under the contract and that Carpenter was entitled to damages for the breach. The Court also held that Carpenter was entitled to interest on the unpaid installments. The Court further held that Carpenter was entitled to an injunction to prevent Williams from selling the land to anyone else. The Court's decision in Carpenter v. Williams established the principle that a party who breaches a contract is liable for damages and may be subject to an injunction to prevent further breaches. This case is still cited today as an example of the legal principles governing contracts.

In Carpenter v. Williams, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a state court had jurisdiction over an alleged crime committed on a steamship in navigable waters within the boundaries of that state. The majority opinion held that it did not have such jurisdiction and reversed the conviction of William Williams for murder. Justice Field dissented from this decision, arguing that states should be allowed to exercise their police power over crimes committed on vessels navigating within their territorial limits as long as they do not interfere with federal authority or conflict with any laws passed by Congress. He argued further that since no law had been passed by Congress prohibiting states from exercising such powers, there was nothing preventing them from doing so in this case and thus upholding Williams' conviction would be appropriate.