In United States v. Lynde's Heirs, the Supreme Court of the United States held that a patent for land granted by Congress to an individual was not subject to taxation by state or local governments. The case arose when heirs of William Lynde, who had been granted a patent from Congress in 1820 for lands located in Wisconsin Territory, were assessed taxes on their property by local authorities. The court found that because the federal government had exclusive jurisdiction over public lands and patents issued therefor, it could not be taxed without its consent. Furthermore, since no such consent was given here, the tax assessment against Lynde’s heirs was invalidated as unconstitutional under Article IV Section 3 of the U.S Constitution which grants exclusive authority over public lands to Congress and prohibits states from taxing them without congressional approval

In United States v. Lynde's Heirs, the Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a patent issued by the federal government to an individual for land in Wisconsin was valid or not. The majority opinion held that it was invalid because it had been granted without proper authority and did not meet all of the requirements necessary for a valid patent under federal law. However, Justice McLean dissented from this decision, arguing that Congress had given sufficient authority to issue such patents and that there were no legal impediments preventing them from being issued in this case. Furthermore, he argued that if Congress intended to limit its power over granting patents then they would have done so explicitly rather than leaving it up to interpretation as they had here. Ultimately, his dissent failed as the majority opinion prevailed but his arguments remain relevant today when considering similar cases involving congressional powers versus state rights issues.