Samson v. Smiley was a United States Supreme Court case that was decided in 1871. The case involved a dispute between two parties over the ownership of a piece of land in the state of California. The plaintiff, Samson, claimed that he had purchased the land from the defendant, Smiley, in 1867. Smiley, however, argued that he had never sold the land to Samson and that he was still the rightful owner. The Supreme Court ultimately sided with Samson, ruling that he was the rightful owner of the land. The Court found that Smiley had made a verbal agreement to sell the land to Samson in 1867 and that this agreement was legally binding. The Court also found that Samson had taken possession of the land and had made improvements to it, which further supported his claim of ownership. The Court's decision in Samson v. Smiley established that verbal agreements can be legally binding in certain circumstances. It also established that a party who takes possession of land and makes improvements to it can be considered the rightful owner, even if they do not have a written deed.

In the case of Samson v. Smiley, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a state court had jurisdiction over a dispute between two citizens from different states. The majority opinion held that it did not have such jurisdiction and dismissed the appeal. However, Justice Field dissented from this decision on multiple grounds. He argued that Congress had granted state courts concurrent jurisdiction in cases involving citizens of different states and thus they should be allowed to hear such disputes when both parties consent to do so. Furthermore, he noted that there were no federal laws or regulations which prohibited such an arrangement and therefore it should be upheld as valid under existing law. Finally, he pointed out that allowing state courts to adjudicate these types of disputes would help ensure justice for all parties involved by providing them with access to local tribunals where their rights could be more easily protected than if they were forced into federal court proceedings instead.