In the United States v. Wise case of 1961, the Supreme Court ruled on a matter concerning federal income tax evasion. The defendants were charged with conspiring to evade taxes by creating false invoices and other documents that overstated costs for their film distribution company, thereby reducing reported profits and tax liabilities. They argued that they had not actually evaded any taxes because their business was unprofitable during the relevant years; thus, even if expenses had been accurately reported, no additional taxes would have been owed. However, the Supreme Court rejected this argument stating that an attempt to defraud is still illegal regardless of whether it results in actual harm or loss to another party or entity (in this case - IRS). Therefore, it upheld convictions against all defendants for conspiracy to defraud the U.S government.

In the dissenting opinion for United States v. Wise, Justice Hugo Black argued that the majority's decision to uphold a conviction based on evidence obtained through an illegal search was in direct violation of Fourth Amendment rights. He contended that allowing such evidence would incentivize law enforcement officers to conduct unlawful searches with impunity, undermining citizens' constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. Furthermore, he expressed concern over the potential erosion of these fundamental liberties if courts continued to sanction violations by police officers in their pursuit of criminal convictions. In his view, upholding this conviction set a dangerous precedent which could lead to widespread abuses of power by law enforcement agencies across the country.