In the United States v. Smith case of 1894, the Supreme Court ruled on a matter concerning maritime jurisdiction and piracy laws. The defendant, Mr. Smith, was accused of robbing fellow crew members while aboard an American ship in Japanese waters. He argued that U.S courts did not have jurisdiction to try him for his alleged crimes because they occurred outside U.S territory. However, the court disagreed with this argument based on two key points: first, under international law at that time (which allowed nations to punish their citizens' criminal activities abroad), and secondly due to specific provisions within U.S legislation regarding piracy committed by Americans on any seas. The court held that Congress had intended such laws against piracy as universal - applying them regardless of where acts were committed or who perpetrated them if they involved American vessels or citizens. Therefore it concluded that federal courts indeed possessed authority over these types of cases even when incidents happened overseas. This decision reinforced America's commitment towards maintaining discipline and order among its nationals traveling internationally via sea routes during a period when global maritime trade was expanding rapidly.

In the dissenting opinion for United States v. Smith, it was argued that the federal government did not have jurisdiction over crimes committed on Native American reservations unless explicitly granted by Congress. The dissenting justices believed that tribal sovereignty should be respected and maintained, arguing that tribes should retain inherent authority to govern themselves and their territories unless specifically divested of such power by federal law or treaty. They contended that the majority's decision undermined this principle by assuming a broad scope of federal criminal jurisdiction without clear congressional authorization. This interpretation, they warned, could lead to an erosion of tribal self-governance and autonomy in violation of longstanding principles recognizing Indian nations as distinct political entities with inherent powers of self-government.