In the United States v. Mescall case of 1909, the Supreme Court ruled on a dispute involving tax law and distilled spirits. The defendant, Mescall, was charged with removing spirits from a distillery without paying taxes or having them properly gauged (measured for volume). He argued that he had not violated any laws because the government's gauger had been present during removal and did not object. However, the court found that this argument held no merit as it is explicitly stated in federal law that all distilled spirits must be taxed before being removed from their place of manufacture regardless of whether an official objects to their removal or not. Therefore, even if an officer fails to perform his duty correctly by allowing untaxed spirits to leave a distillery premises does not exempt those involved from legal responsibility for tax evasion under existing statutes.

In the dissenting opinion for United States v. Mescall, it was argued that the defendant's conviction should be overturned due to a lack of evidence proving his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The dissenting justices believed that there were significant gaps in the prosecution's case and inconsistencies in witness testimonies which raised questions about their credibility. They also pointed out that some evidence presented by the prosecution was circumstantial at best and did not conclusively prove Mescall’s involvement in fraudulent activities as alleged by government prosecutors. Furthermore, they disagreed with how lower courts had interpreted certain laws related to fraud, arguing these interpretations were overly broad and could potentially criminalize innocent behavior if left unchecked. Therefore, they felt an acquittal would have been more appropriate given these circumstances.