In Mullen v. Simmons, Sheriff of Johnston County (1913), the United States Supreme Court reviewed a case involving an individual named Mullen who was convicted for selling liquor in violation of state law and sentenced to six months imprisonment at hard labor. The defendant argued that his conviction violated the 13th Amendment's prohibition against involuntary servitude as well as the 8th Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. However, the Supreme Court rejected these arguments, ruling that neither amendment had been violated by his sentence. The court held that compulsory labor as a form of punishment for crime does not constitute involuntary servitude under the 13th Amendment nor is it considered cruel or unusual under the standards set forth in Weems v. United States (1910). Therefore, Mullen’s constitutional rights were not infringed upon by his sentencing.

The dissenting opinion in the case of Mullen v. Simmons, Sheriff of Johnston County argued that the majority's decision to uphold a state law prohibiting non-residents from hunting was unconstitutional. The dissenters believed that this law violated the Privileges and Immunities Clause of Article IV, Section 2, which states that "the citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states." They contended that hunting is a privilege enjoyed by residents within their own state boundaries and should therefore be extended to visitors from other states as well. Furthermore, they disagreed with the majority's assertion that preserving game for local inhabitants justified discrimination against out-of-state hunters. In their view, such reasoning could potentially lead to further unjust restrictions on interstate commerce or travel rights based on similarly arbitrary justifications.