The Supreme Court case of the Supreme Tribe of Ben-Hur v. Cauble et al., 1920, revolved around a dispute between two fraternal organizations: The Supreme Tribe of Ben-Hur and the Tribe of Ben Hur. Both groups claimed to be the legitimate successors to an earlier organization called Order of Ben Hur, which had been dissolved in 1906 due to financial insolvency. The main issue was whether or not the new group (Supreme Tribe) could use similar rituals, secrets and insignia as those used by its predecessor without infringing on any rights held by another successor group (Tribe). In this case, it was determined that such elements were not protected under copyright law because they were not considered "writings" within the meaning of federal copyright statutes at that time. Therefore, no infringement occurred when these aspects were adopted by a different organization after dissolution.

In the dissenting opinion for the Supreme Court case, SUPREME TRIBE OF BEN-HUR v. CAUBLE et al., Justice Holmes argued that there was no basis to interfere with the decision of Indiana's courts. He believed that it was not within their jurisdiction to question or overturn a state court’s interpretation of its own laws unless it violated federal law or constitution. The majority had ruled in favor of Cauble on grounds that Ben-Hur Tribe's charter did not permit them to create an insurance department and thus they were operating illegally under Indiana law. However, Holmes contended this was a misinterpretation as he saw nothing in the charter explicitly prohibiting such action and therefore felt it should be left up to state courts' discretion rather than being federally mandated.