The Santa Maria case was a dispute between the Spanish Consul and the United States government. The Consul had purchased a ship, named the Santa Maria, in 1820 from an American citizen who had illegally taken it from Spain during their war with France. The US government seized the vessel as contraband of war and refused to return it to its rightful owner. In response, the Spanish Consul filed suit against them in order to reclaim his property. After much deliberation by both sides, including arguments presented before Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall himself, it was decided that since there were no laws or treaties at that time which could be used as precedent for this case; therefore any decision would have to be based on equity alone. Ultimately, after considering all evidence presented by both parties involved in this dispute over ownership of a single vessel; Chief Justice Marshall ruled in favor of returning possession of said vessel back to its original owner -the Spanish consul- thus ending what became known as “The Santa Maria Case”

In the case of The Santa Maria, the dissenting opinion argued that a foreign consul had no right to bring suit in an American court. According to Chief Justice Marshall, who wrote the majority opinion, a foreign consul was not considered a citizen and therefore did not have standing to sue in U.S. courts. However, Justice Johnson disagreed with this ruling and argued that since it was established by treaty between Spain and America that Spanish Consuls were allowed certain privileges within our country's borders then they should be able to exercise their rights as citizens when bringing suit against another party in an American court of law. He further stated that if these treaties are valid then so too is any action taken under them including suing for damages or other relief from wrongs committed against them while on U.S soil; thus making it possible for Spanish Consuls to seek justice through our judicial system just like any other citizen would be able do so without fear of being denied due process because of their nationality or status as foreigners living abroad temporarily within our nation’s boundaries