In the case of Taylor and Marshall v. Beckham in 1899, the United States Supreme Court was asked to decide on a dispute over Kentucky's gubernatorial election results. The Republican candidate, William S. Taylor, had initially been declared the winner by a small margin but his Democratic opponent, William Goebel, contested this result alleging voter fraud and irregularities. While these allegations were being investigated by Kentucky's General Assembly (which was controlled by Democrats), Goebel was shot under mysterious circumstances but before dying he was sworn into office as governor based on amended vote counts approved by the assembly. This led to two parallel governments operating in Kentucky with both candidates claiming victory. Taylor sought intervention from federal courts arguing that state authorities violated his constitutional rights through their actions which effectively removed him from an office he claimed rightfully belonged to him after winning majority votes originally counted for him during elections held according to law established prior to those elections. The U.S Supreme Court declined jurisdiction stating it could not interfere with states' decisions regarding their own internal affairs unless there is clear violation of federal laws or constitution - something they did not find evidence of in this case.

In the dissenting opinion for Taylor and Marshall v. Beckham, Justice Harlan argued that the majority's decision was an overreach of federal power into state affairs. He believed that it was not within the Supreme Court's jurisdiction to decide on a matter related to Kentucky’s gubernatorial election as this should be left up to individual states' discretion. Harlan contended that there were no constitutional questions at stake in this case, thus making it inappropriate for federal intervention. Furthermore, he expressed concern about setting a dangerous precedent where the Supreme Court could potentially interfere with future state elections based on partisan politics rather than legal principles.