In the case of United States v. Nevada et al., 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court was asked to resolve a dispute over land ownership between the federal government and the state of Nevada. The issue at hand was whether or not certain lands within Nevada's boundaries were owned by the state or if they remained in federal hands as "public lands." The court ruled that these areas were indeed public lands under control of Congress, based on language found in an act admitting Nevada into Union which stated that all unsold and unappropriated public lands would remain federally controlled until otherwise directed by Congress. This decision affirmed Congressional power over vast tracts of western territory, reinforcing principles established during earlier periods of American expansion.

In the dissenting opinion for United States v. Nevada et al., 1972, it was argued that the majority's decision to uphold Nevada's claim over certain lands within its borders against federal government claims was incorrect. The dissenting justices believed that this ruling contradicted previous court decisions and legal principles regarding state sovereignty and property rights. They contended that under established law, when a territory becomes a state, it gains jurisdiction over all lands within its boundaries not specifically reserved by the federal government at the time of admission into Union. In their view, no such reservation had been made in Nevada’s case; therefore these disputed lands should be considered as belonging to Federal Government rather than State of Nevada. Furthermore, they expressed concern about potential implications of this ruling on future disputes between states and federal government over land ownership.