In the case of Jackson, ex dem. The People of the State of New-York v. Clarke, a man was arrested for larceny and brought to trial in New York state court. During his trial he requested that certain documents be produced as evidence but they were not provided by either party so he asked for an adjournment until they could be obtained. The judge denied this request and proceeded with the trial without them which resulted in a conviction against him. He then appealed to the Supreme Court claiming that due process had been violated because he was not allowed access to all relevant evidence before being convicted or sentenced; however, his appeal was ultimately rejected on grounds that it did not meet constitutional standards since there had been no violation of any fundamental right under law at issue in this case.

In Jackson, Ex Dem. The People of the State of New-York v. Clarke, Chief Justice Marshall delivered a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the Court should not have granted certiorari to review the decision of a state court on questions arising under its own laws and constitution. He noted that it was well established law that such decisions were binding upon all other courts unless they could be shown to be erroneous or unconstitutional; thus, there was no need for further review by this Court as any errors would already have been corrected by the state court itself. Furthermore, Marshall argued that granting certiorari in this case would set an undesirable precedent whereby parties could bring their cases before this Court without first exhausting their remedies at lower levels and thereby circumventing those tribunals created for hearing such matters. As such, he concluded that it was inappropriate for this Court to grant certiorari in order to hear appeals from state courts on questions arising under their own laws and constitutions.