In the case of A. J. Oliver, as Trustee, et al. v. United States in 1924, the Supreme Court ruled on a dispute involving land ownership and mineral rights in Oklahoma that had been allotted to members of the Choctaw and Chickasaw tribes under an agreement with Congress from 1902. The plaintiffs argued that they held title to coal and asphalt deposits beneath their lands because these minerals were not specifically mentioned in deeds transferring surface rights to them from tribal members who originally received allotments under this agreement. The court disagreed with this interpretation, ruling instead that all subsurface mineral rights remained vested with the tribes unless explicitly transferred by deed or statute - which was not done here for coal or asphalt resources found below ground level on these properties. This decision affirmed lower court rulings against Oliver's claims while also clarifying federal law regarding property transfers between Native American tribes and non-tribal parties within reservation boundaries established by treaty agreements prior to Oklahoma statehood.

In the dissenting opinion for A.J. Oliver, as Trustee, et al. v. United States (1924), Justice McReynolds disagreed with the majority's decision to uphold a tax on cotton futures contracts under the Revenue Act of 1918. He argued that these transactions were not sales in any ordinary sense and should therefore be exempt from taxation under this act. According to him, such contracts are merely agreements to buy or sell at a future date and do not involve an immediate transfer of property rights; thus they cannot be considered taxable events by themselves without undermining basic principles of contract law and commerce regulation.