In the 1958 case Herrmann, Trustee v. Rogers, Attorney General, the U.S Supreme Court dealt with a dispute over property rights and jurisdiction between an individual and the state of Alaska. The appellant was a trustee for certain Alaskan railroad properties that were transferred to him by a bankrupt estate in order to pay off creditors. However, when Alaska became a state in 1959 it claimed ownership of these properties under its Statehood Act which granted it all "right, title and interest" to lands within its borders held by any federal agency at time of admission into Union. The court had to decide whether this act applied retroactively or not i.e., if it could affect transactions made before Alaska's admission as a state. The Supreme Court ruled against Herrmann stating that Congress intended for such transfers of land from federal agencies to individuals prior to statehood would be subject only to valid existing rights at time they occurred; thus making them immune from later claims by new states like Alaska based on their Statehood Acts.

In the dissenting opinion for Herrmann v. Rogers, it was argued that the majority's decision to allow a dual citizen to lose their U.S. citizenship by voting in a foreign election is inconsistent with previous rulings and interpretations of Section 401(e) of the Nationality Act of 1940. The dissenting justices believed that this section should only apply if an individual voluntarily performs an expatriating act with intent to relinquish U.S. nationality, which they did not believe was demonstrated in this case. They also expressed concern about potential implications for other dual citizens who may unknowingly jeopardize their American citizenship through participation in political activities abroad without explicit intention to renounce their U.S status.