In the United States v. Witten case of 1891, the Supreme Court ruled on a dispute over land rights in Oklahoma. The defendant, Witten, had claimed ownership of a parcel of land under the Homestead Act after it was opened for settlement following its previous designation as Indian Territory. However, this claim was contested by the U.S government who argued that Witten's claim was invalid because he had entered and settled on the land before it officially opened to non-Indian settlers at noon on April 22nd, 1889. The court sided with the government stating that anyone who entered these lands prior to their official opening violated federal law and thus forfeited any right to make a homestead entry for them later. This ruling upheld an important principle regarding public lands: they must be open for settlement before claims can be made upon them.

The dissenting opinion in the United States v. Witten case argued that the majority's decision to uphold a lower court ruling, which found Witten guilty of selling liquor without a license on Native American land, was incorrect. The dissenting justices believed that the federal government did not have jurisdiction over crimes committed on tribal lands unless explicitly granted by Congress. They contended that since no such grant had been made at the time of Witten's alleged crime, he could not be prosecuted under federal law for his actions. This view held that Indian tribes should be considered sovereign nations within their territories and thus outside of U.S legal jurisdiction unless otherwise specified by legislation.