In the 1909 case of Laurel Hill Cemetery v. City and County of San Francisco, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of San Francisco's right to regulate cemeteries within its jurisdiction. The dispute arose when Laurel Hill Cemetery challenged a city ordinance that prohibited burials within city limits unless they were in established cemeteries or plots purchased before August 1900. The cemetery argued this violated their rights under the Fourteenth Amendment by depriving them of property without due process and equal protection under law. However, the court upheld San Francisco's authority to enact such regulations for public health and welfare reasons, stating it was not an arbitrary exercise of power nor did it infrally on any constitutional protections.

In the dissenting opinion for Laurel Hill Cemetery v. City and County of San Francisco, it was argued that the ordinance passed by San Francisco prohibiting further burials within city limits infringed upon private property rights without providing just compensation, thus violating the Fourteenth Amendment's due process clause. The dissenting justices contended that while a government has police power to regulate activities detrimental to public health or safety, this power must be exercised reasonably and not infringe on constitutional protections. They believed that there was no compelling evidence presented suggesting additional burials posed any significant threat to public health or welfare. Therefore, they viewed this as an unreasonable exercise of police power resulting in deprivation of property use without due process of law.