In the case of United States v. Klamath and Moadoc Tribes of Indians et al., 1937, the Supreme Court ruled on a dispute over land rights between the U.S. government and two Native American tribes in Oregon: The Klamath and Moadoc. The court had to decide whether certain lands were part of a reservation established by an 1864 treaty or if they were public lands that could be sold under general laws. In its decision, the court held that these disputed lands did indeed form part of the tribal reservations as per terms agreed upon in their treaty with federal authorities. The ruling was based on an interpretation of language used in both Congressional legislation and executive orders related to this matter, which indicated clear intent for these territories to be reserved for tribal use rather than being classified as public domain available for sale or settlement by non-tribal members. This landmark judgment underscored respect for treaties made with indigenous peoples while also emphasizing legal principles such as statutory construction (interpretation) when determining original intent behind legislative actions concerning native land rights.

In the dissenting opinion for United States v. Klamath and Moadoc Tribes of Indians et al., Justice Cardozo disagreed with the majority's interpretation that a 1901 agreement between the U.S. government and these tribes did not extinguish their rights to hunt, fish, gather, and graze on former reservation lands sold to private parties. He argued that when Congress ratified this agreement in 1906 without explicitly preserving such rights, it intended to terminate them completely as part of its broader policy at the time toward assimilation of Native Americans into mainstream society. Furthermore, he contended that even if some ambiguity existed about Congressional intent due to language differences between various versions of this legislation during its drafting process, any doubts should be resolved against tribal interests because they were compensated financially for all potential losses from land sales under this agreement.