The Estrella, Hernandez v. United States was a Supreme Court case in which the claimant argued that he had been wrongfully denied compensation for his service as an officer on board the Spanish vessel Estrella during its voyage from Spain to New Orleans in 1819. The court found that although Hernandez had served as an officer on board the ship, he did not meet all of the requirements necessary to be considered a "seaman" under U.S. law and thus could not receive any compensation for his services aboard the vessel. Specifically, it was determined that because Hernandez's duties were limited solely to navigation and piloting of the ship rather than performing manual labor or other tasks associated with seamen at sea, he did not qualify as such under U.S law and therefore could not receive any payment for his services aboard The Estrella . Ultimately, this ruling established precedent regarding who is eligible for seaman’s wages according to US maritime laws

In The Estrella case, the Supreme Court was tasked with deciding whether a Spanish grant of land to Don Francisco Estrella in 1819 could be recognized by the United States. In an 8-1 decision, it was held that the grant should not be recognized as valid under U.S. law because there had been no formal recognition of it from either Spain or Mexico prior to its cession to the United States in 1848. Justice Field dissented from this ruling and argued that while Congress may have had authority over such grants after they were ceded, they did not possess any power before then and thus could not invalidate them retroactively. He further noted that even if Congress did have such authority, their failure to act on these claims for so long indicated a tacit approval of them which should be respected by courts today.