In the case of McMichael v. Murphy in 1904, the United States Supreme Court addressed a dispute over land ownership between two parties who had both purchased from different sellers claiming to be rightful owners. The plaintiff, McMichael, bought his portion of land from an individual who acquired it through a tax sale while defendant Murphy's seller claimed ownership via inheritance. The main issue was whether or not the original owner’s failure to pay taxes invalidated their claim and thus made McMichael's purchase legitimate. The court ruled in favor of Murphy stating that although non-payment of taxes can lead to forfeiture under certain circumstances, this did not apply here as there were procedural irregularities with how the tax sale was conducted which rendered it invalid. Therefore, despite non-payment of taxes by its previous owner, title remained with them and passed legitimately onto Murphy rendering him as rightful owner.

In the dissenting opinion for MCMichael v. Murphy, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold a tax assessment on property in Indian Territory was incorrect. The dissenting justices believed that Congress did not have authority to impose such taxes because of treaties with Native American tribes which guaranteed their lands would never be part of any state or territory and thus exempt from taxation. They also pointed out inconsistencies in how different types of properties were taxed within these territories, further arguing against the legality and fairness of this taxation system. In conclusion, they contended that imposing taxes on these lands violated both treaty rights and principles of equal protection under law.