United States v. Allison was a United States Supreme Court case that dealt with the issue of whether a federal court had the authority to issue a writ of habeas corpus to a state prisoner. The case involved a man named William Allison, who had been convicted of murder in the state of Tennessee and sentenced to death. The Supreme Court held that the federal court did not have the authority to issue a writ of habeas corpus to a state prisoner. The Court reasoned that the writ of habeas corpus was a remedy for federal prisoners, and that the federal court did not have the power to interfere with the state's criminal justice system. The Court also noted that the writ of habeas corpus was not intended to be used as a substitute for a criminal trial. The Court's decision in United States v. Allison was significant because it established that the federal court did not have the authority to issue a writ of habeas corpus to a state prisoner. This decision has been cited in numerous subsequent cases, and it has been used to support the idea that the federal court should not interfere with the state's criminal justice system.

In United States v. Allison, the Supreme Court was tasked with deciding whether a defendant could be convicted of both an offense against the United States and one against a state when they were based on the same act or transaction. The majority opinion held that such convictions would not violate double jeopardy protections because each offense had its own distinct elements and punishments. Justice Field dissented from this decision, arguing that allowing multiple convictions for offenses arising out of the same act violated fundamental principles of justice by punishing someone twice for what is essentially one crime. He argued that it was unfair to punish someone more severely than if they had committed two separate acts since their conduct did not change in either case; thus, he concluded that only one conviction should be allowed regardless of how many jurisdictions are involved in prosecuting it.