In the case of Shoshone Mining Company v. Rutter in 1899, the U.S Supreme Court ruled on a dispute over mining rights in Idaho. The Shoshone Mining Company claimed that it had acquired ownership of certain mineral lands through a patent from the United States government and sought to prevent John Rutter from extracting ore from these lands. However, Rutter argued that he had obtained valid mining claims before the company's patent was issued and thus held superior rights to mine there. The court sided with Rutter, holding that his prior possession and development of valuable minerals gave him exclusive right to continue working those mines even after they were included within land later patented by another party. This decision affirmed an important principle: under federal law, miners who make bona fide discovery of valuable minerals have priority over subsequent claimants or purchasers - including those acquiring patents directly from the government.

In the dissenting opinion for the Shoshone Mining Company v. Rutter case, it was argued that the majority's decision failed to properly consider and apply existing mining laws. The dissenting justices believed that these laws clearly established a miner's right to follow a vein of ore onto an adjoining claim if it dipped below ground level, as long as they had initially discovered this vein on their own property. They felt that this principle should have been upheld in this case because there was no evidence suggesting any fraudulent intent or unfair conduct by Rutter when he followed the vein onto Shoshone’s land from his own adjacent claim. Therefore, according to them, Rutter should not be penalized simply for exercising his lawful rights under mining law.