In the case of Goode v. United States in 1895, the Supreme Court ruled on a matter concerning property rights and taxation. The plaintiff, Goode, argued that his land was improperly seized by federal authorities due to unpaid taxes during the Civil War period when he was residing in Confederate territory. He claimed that since he had not pledged allegiance to the Confederacy and had no control over his property at this time, it should not have been subject to seizure for tax delinquency under U.S law. However, the court disagreed with him stating that regardless of where one's loyalties lie during wartime or whether they are able to exercise control over their properties or not does not exempt them from paying taxes as required by law. Therefore, it upheld lower courts' rulings which found such seizures lawful if taxes were indeed owed.

In the dissenting opinion for Goode v. United States, Justice Brewer argued that the majority's interpretation of the law was too broad and could potentially infringe upon individual rights. He contended that while it is important to prevent fraud in elections, this should not come at the expense of citizens' right to vote freely without fear of prosecution. According to him, under such a broad interpretation any person who makes an error on their ballot or misunderstands voting instructions could be criminally prosecuted which he believed was not Congress’s intent when they passed legislation against voter fraud. Furthermore, he expressed concern about potential abuse by those in power using these laws as a tool for political persecution rather than its intended purpose - preventing election corruption.