In the case of McLaren v. Fleischer (1920), the US Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a New York state law that allowed for an inheritance tax on property transferred by will or intestate succession violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The specific issue in question involved a trust established by William C. Whitney, who had died before his wife and left her lifetime use of their home and its contents, which were then to be passed onto their children upon her death. When Mrs. Whitney died years later, New York sought to impose an inheritance tax on these items as they passed from mother to children. The court ruled in favor of Fleischer, upholding New York's right to levy such taxes under its own laws without violating federal constitutional rights related to due process or equal protection under law. It held that since Mr.Whitney’s estate had not been fully distributed at his death because it included life estates for his widow—meaning she could use but not dispose them—the transfer did not become complete until after her death when it went directly into possession of their children; thus making it taxable.

The dissenting opinion in the case of McLaren v. Fleischer argued that the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling, which found in favor of Fleischer, was incorrect. The dissenters believed that there were significant errors made during the trial process and these mistakes had an impact on its outcome. They contended that certain evidence presented by McLaren should have been admitted but was unjustly excluded by the presiding judge. This exclusion, they asserted, denied McLaren a fair opportunity to present his case fully and effectively before the jury. Furthermore, they disagreed with how some laws were interpreted and applied in this particular instance; arguing instead for different interpretations which would have favored McLaren’s position more strongly than those adopted by their colleagues in majority.