In the United States Supreme Court case of The United States v. William Bennitz, the appellant argued that a certain vessel had been seized in violation of international law and therefore should be released from custody. The respondent countered that the seizure was lawful under American statutes and treaties with foreign powers. After considering both sides’ arguments, the court ultimately ruled in favor of Bennitz, finding that no statute or treaty authorized such a seizure and thus it was unlawful. Furthermore, they held that even if there were some legal authority for seizing vessels on suspicion of piracy or other offenses against public justice, this particular vessel did not meet those criteria as its voyage had been peaceful prior to being stopped by U.S authorities without any evidence presented to suggest otherwise. As such, they ordered its release from custody along with all damages incurred during its detention period due to illegal action taken by government officials

In the case of The United States v. William Bennitz, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a federal court had jurisdiction over an alleged violation of a state law. The majority opinion held that it did not have such jurisdiction and dismissed the appeal. However, Justice Grier dissented from this decision and argued that Congress has given federal courts exclusive authority to hear cases involving violations of state laws when those violations also constitute offenses against the United States or its citizens. He further noted that in this particular case, there is evidence suggesting that Bennitz's actions constituted both a violation of Pennsylvania law as well as an offense against U.S citizens since he allegedly defrauded them out of money through false pretenses and misrepresentations about his business dealings with them. Therefore, Justice Grier concluded that under these circumstances, federal courts should be allowed to exercise their power to adjudicate matters concerning violations of state laws which are also offenses against the United States or its citizens