In Seaman Field and Others v. The United States, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a federal statute that allowed for the recovery of damages from vessels that had caused injury or death in navigable waters was constitutional. Plaintiffs argued that it violated their right to due process under the Fifth Amendment because it did not provide them with an opportunity for a jury trial before awarding damages. The Supreme Court disagreed, ruling that Congress has authority over navigation on navigable waters and can enact laws regulating such activity without violating any Constitutional rights. Furthermore, they held that since there is no explicit guarantee of a jury trial in cases involving maritime law, Congress could choose not to include one when passing legislation related to this area of law.

In Seaman Field and Others v. The United States, the Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether or not a federal law that allowed for the seizure of goods from ships in order to pay off debts violated the Constitution. In a 5-4 decision, Justice Story delivered an opinion dissenting from the majority's ruling that such seizures were constitutional. He argued that Congress had exceeded its authority by enacting this law because it did not fall within any of their enumerated powers under Article I Section 8 of the Constitution. Furthermore, he stated that even if Congress had been granted such power by implication or inference, they could only exercise it when necessary and proper to carry out their other delegated powers - which was clearly not applicable here since there was no connection between debt collection and any other enumerated power given to Congress in Article I Section 8. Therefore, Justice Story concluded that this act should be declared unconstitutional as it infringed upon states' rights reserved under Amendment 10th of the Bill of Rights.