In the 1893 case of Lewis v. Wilson, the United States Supreme Court dealt with a dispute over land ownership in California. The plaintiff, Lewis, claimed that he had purchased a piece of property from an individual who had obtained it through preemption rights under federal law. However, the defendant, Wilson argued that they owned this same parcel of land due to Mexican land grant laws which were recognized by U.S treaty obligations following the Mexican-American War. The court ruled in favor of Wilson stating that when there is conflict between American preemption laws and prior Spanish or Mexican grants acknowledged by treaties with Mexico after its war with America; priority should be given to these earlier foreign grants as long as they are valid and have been confirmed according to stipulations within those treaties.

In the dissenting opinion for Lewis v. Wilson, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a state law prohibiting interracial marriage violated both the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. The dissenting justices believed that this law was discriminatory in nature as it denied individuals of different races from marrying each other, thus infringing upon their fundamental right to marry. They also contended that such laws were based on racial prejudice and served no legitimate governmental interest or public purpose. Furthermore, they asserted that these laws perpetuated notions of racial superiority and inferiority which contradicted with principles of equality enshrined in the Constitution. Therefore, according to them, such laws should be struck down as unconstitutional.