The Mayor and Commonalty of Alexandria v. Patten and Others was a case heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1807. The dispute arose when several individuals, including William Patten, purchased land from the town of Alexandria that had been previously leased to another individual for ninety-nine years. The purchasers argued that they were entitled to immediate possession of the property since their deed was recorded before any notice could be given to them about the prior lease agreement. However, Alexandria maintained that it still held title to the property due to its prior lease agreement with another party and sought an injunction against Patten et al., preventing them from taking possession or exercising any rights over said land until expiration of said lease term. Ultimately, after considering both sides’ arguments on various legal issues such as laches (unreasonable delay) and estoppel (legal bar), Chief Justice John Marshall ruled in favor of Alexandria; he found that although there may have been some negligence on behalf of those who granted leases without proper notification being provided beforehand, this did not entitle anyone else besides those named in said leases with exclusive right over such lands until expiration thereof occurred

In the case of The Mayor and Commonalty of Alexandria v. Patten and Others, Chief Justice John Marshall delivered a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the Court should not have dismissed the writ of error filed by the defendants. He reasoned that since there was no dispute as to whether or not an act had been passed by Congress granting certain rights to citizens, it was up to a jury to decide if those rights were violated when they were denied access into Alexandria's harbor. Furthermore, Marshall asserted that even though Congress did pass such an act, it could still be challenged on constitutional grounds; thus making this case one for judicial review rather than legislative interpretation. In conclusion, he concluded that because there is no clear answer as to who has authority over this matter - either Congress or state legislatures - then it should be left up for determination in court proceedings instead of being summarily dismissed without further consideration.