In the case of Jones v. United States in 1890, the U.S. Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a person could be convicted for receiving stolen property if they were unaware that it had been stolen. The defendant, Jones, had received cotton from an individual who had stolen it from a ship's cargo hold but claimed he did not know it was stolen at the time of receipt. The court ruled in favor of Jones and set forth a precedent stating that to convict someone for receiving stolen goods, there must be proof beyond reasonable doubt that they knew or should have known about its illicit origins when accepting them. This ruling established important guidelines regarding criminal intent and knowledge within theft-related offenses.

In the dissenting opinion for Jones v. United States, 1890, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a federal law prohibiting cohabitation with more than one woman was an overreach of Congressional power. The dissenting justices believed that Congress did not have the authority to legislate on matters of personal morality or family structure in territories where no specific laws existed against such practices. They contended that this issue should be left up to individual states and territories to decide according to their own social norms and legal frameworks. Furthermore, they expressed concerns about potential violations of religious freedom as many polygamous relationships were rooted in religious beliefs and customs.