In the Horner v. United States case of 1891, the Supreme Court examined whether a federal law that prohibited lotteries also applied to lottery tickets sold for foreign lotteries. The defendant, Charles F. Horner was indicted under this law for selling such tickets in San Francisco and appealed his conviction on the grounds that Congress did not have authority over commerce with foreign nations regarding non-imported goods or services like lottery tickets. However, the court ruled against him stating that while Congress could not interfere directly with commerce within a state unless it affected other states or foreign countries, it had broad power over interstate and international commerce which included regulation of items such as lottery tickets even if they were part of an overseas operation.

In the dissenting opinion for Horner v. United States, Justice Lamar disagreed with the majority's interpretation of the law and its application to this case. He argued that there was a lack of evidence proving that Horner had knowingly committed fraud or intended to defraud anyone. The mere fact that he made false statements does not automatically mean he intended to deceive or cheat others out of their money or property; it could have been due to negligence, mistake, or ignorance on his part. Furthermore, Justice Lamar contended that even if Horner did make false statements with fraudulent intent, it would still be necessary for these actions to result in actual harm before they can be considered criminal offenses under federal law. In other words, without proof of both fraudulent intent and resulting damage from such deceitful conduct (i.e., loss suffered by victims), no crime has been committed according to him.