In the case of Cole et al. v. Ralph, 1919, the U.S Supreme Court ruled on a dispute involving land ownership in Oklahoma. The plaintiffs were members of the Creek Nation who claimed that they had been unlawfully dispossessed of their lands by non-Indian settlers under an act passed by Congress in 1901 which allowed for allotment and sale of tribal lands to non-Indians. They sought restitution and damages from those currently occupying their ancestral property. The defendants argued that they had purchased these properties legally under federal law and therefore held valid title to them. The Supreme Court sided with the defendants, ruling that while it was regrettable what happened to Native American tribes during this period, there was no legal basis for overturning established property rights based on past injustices. This decision reinforced previous rulings upholding Congressional power over Indian affairs and confirmed that once tribal lands have been sold or allotted under federal law, subsequent claims by tribe members against new owners are not recognized.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Cole et al. v. Ralph argued that the majority's decision to uphold a law prohibiting interracial cohabitation was fundamentally flawed and inconsistent with constitutional principles. The dissenters believed that such laws were discriminatory, violating both due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. They contended that these laws served no legitimate purpose other than to perpetuate racial segregation and discrimination, which they deemed unconstitutional. Furthermore, they asserted that private consensual relationships between adults should not be subject to state interference or regulation unless there is a compelling public interest at stake - something they did not believe existed in this case.