In the United States Supreme Court case of The United States v. Vicente P. Gomez, the court was asked to decide whether a Mexican citizen who had been living in California since 1846 could be considered an inhabitant and thus subject to taxation by the state government. At issue was whether or not he should have received a certificate of residence from Mexico before being taxed as an inhabitant, which would exempt him from paying taxes on his property located in California. The court held that although Gomez did not possess such a certificate, he still qualified as an inhabitant under both Mexican and American law because he had resided continuously in California for more than ten years prior to its admission into the Union and therefore could be lawfully taxed by the state government without having obtained any special permission from Mexico beforehand. This decision established important precedent regarding residency requirements for individuals seeking protection under U.S laws while also affirming states’ rights to tax their inhabitants regardless of nationality or origin

In the case of United States v. Vicente P. Gomez, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a Spanish land grant in California had been validly conveyed by Spain before it ceded control of the region to Mexico and then later to the United States. The majority opinion held that since there was no evidence that Spain had ever formally recognized or confirmed this particular grant, it could not be considered valid under Mexican law and thus did not pass on to U.S. ownership when California became part of America's territory after 1848. Justice McLean dissented from this ruling, arguing that even if there were no formal documents confirming its validity, long-standing possession should have been sufficient proof for recognition as a legitimate claim under both Spanish and Mexican laws at the time; he further argued that such an interpretation would be more consistent with principles of justice than denying all claims without any clear legal basis for doing so.