Dauterive v. United States was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1879. The case involved a dispute between the United States and the heirs of a deceased French citizen, Pierre Dauterive, over the ownership of certain property located in Louisiana. The United States argued that the property had been acquired by the United States through the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and was therefore the property of the United States. The heirs of Dauterive argued that the property had been acquired by Dauterive prior to the Louisiana Purchase and was therefore their property. The Supreme Court held that the property belonged to the United States. The Court reasoned that the Louisiana Purchase was a valid transaction and that the United States had acquired all of the rights and title to the property in question. The Court further held that the heirs of Dauterive had no right to the property as they had not acquired it prior to the Louisiana Purchase. The Court concluded that the United States was the rightful owner of the property.

In Dauterive v. United States, the Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a Louisiana statute that allowed for the sale of public lands to pay off state debts was constitutional. The majority opinion held that it was not and struck down the law as unconstitutional. Justice Field dissented from this decision, arguing that Congress had no authority to interfere in matters concerning state debt or taxation and thus could not declare such laws unconstitutional. He argued further that even if Congress did have such power, they had never exercised it in this case nor any other similar cases before then. Therefore, he concluded that since there were no clear legal precedents on which to base their ruling, the court should defer to states’ rights instead of striking down a validly passed law by an elected legislature without sufficient cause or precedent.