The Thiede v. Utah Territory case in 1895 revolved around a land dispute between two parties, Thiede and the Utah Territory. The Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether or not the lower court had jurisdiction to hear the case and if it correctly applied federal law when making its decision. In this instance, Thiede claimed that he had obtained ownership of certain lands through preemption rights under federal law while Utah disputed his claim on grounds that these lands were part of school sections reserved by Congress for territorial use only. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Utah, stating that the lower court did have jurisdiction over this matter and correctly interpreted federal laws regarding preemption rights and reservation of school sections by Congress for territories like Utah.

In the dissenting opinion for Thiede v. Utah Territory, Justice Brewer argued that the court should not have upheld Thiede's conviction because it was based on evidence obtained through an illegal search and seizure. He contended that the Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures applied to territorial courts as well as federal ones. Furthermore, he believed that allowing such evidence to be used in court would set a dangerous precedent by encouraging law enforcement officers to violate citizens' constitutional rights with impunity. In his view, upholding the rule of law required excluding illegally obtained evidence from trial proceedings regardless of its potential relevance or probative value.