Draper v. Davis was a United States Supreme Court case that addressed the issue of whether a state court could order a defendant to pay a debt that was not due until after the defendant's death. The case involved a dispute between two brothers, William Draper and John Davis, over a debt that William owed to John. William had agreed to pay John a certain sum of money upon his death, but John sought to have the debt paid before William's death. The Supreme Court held that the state court did not have the authority to order William to pay the debt before his death, as this would be a violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court reasoned that the state court could not order William to pay a debt that was not due until after his death, as this would be an unconstitutional taking of his property without due process of law. The Court also held that the state court could not order William to pay the debt before his death, as this would be a violation of the Contract Clause of the United States Constitution. The Court concluded that the state court did not have the authority to order William to pay the debt before his death, and thus the judgment of the state court was reversed.

Justice Field delivered the dissenting opinion in Draper v. Davis, arguing that the decision of the Supreme Court of California should be affirmed. He argued that Congress had no power to interfere with a state's right to determine its own laws and regulations regarding property rights, as this was an issue reserved for each individual state under the Tenth Amendment. Furthermore, he argued that even if Congress did have such authority, it would not apply in this case because there was no federal statute or regulation at issue here; rather, it was simply a dispute between two private parties over ownership of land located within California's borders. As such, Justice Field concluded that any attempt by Congress to intervene in this matter would constitute an unconstitutional intrusion into matters which were solely within the jurisdiction of California courts and legislatures.