In the United States v. Downing case of 1905, the Supreme Court ruled on a matter concerning land ownership and inheritance laws within Native American tribes. The dispute arose when John Downing, a member of the Cherokee Nation, died intestate in 1888 leaving his property to his wife Sarah A. Downing and their children who were all members of the same tribe. However, after Mrs. Downing's death in 1892, her share was claimed by her non-Cherokee relatives based on Arkansas state law which allowed widows to inherit one-third of their husband’s estate as dower rights if there was no will present at time of death. The court held that tribal law should prevail over state law in this instance because it had been established that Congress intended for allotments made under treaties with Indian nations to be subject only to federal or tribal laws unless explicitly stated otherwise by Congress itself. Therefore, since Cherokee custom did not recognize dower rights but instead divided property equally among surviving children upon a parent's death without a will (intestate), Mrs.Downing's share could not pass onto her non-Cherokee relatives but would instead go directly to her children.

The dissenting opinion in the United States v. Downing case of 1905 argued that the majority's decision to uphold Downing's conviction was flawed due to an incorrect interpretation of a key statute. The dissent contended that the law under which Downing was charged, which prohibited unauthorized persons from wearing military uniforms or medals, did not apply because he had not worn them with fraudulent intent or for personal gain. Instead, they believed his actions were more akin to impersonation rather than fraud and thus fell outside the scope of this particular law. They also disagreed with how evidence related to other instances where Downing wore military attire was admitted during trial as it could have prejudiced jurors against him unfairly. This disagreement extended further into concerns about potential violations of constitutional rights regarding self-incrimination and double jeopardy protections.