Wheaton v. Sexton's Lessee was a United States Supreme Court case that established the principle of judicial review in American law. The dispute arose when Richard Sexton, who had leased land from Thomas Wheaton, refused to pay rent on the property after Wheaton died and his estate passed into probate court. In response, Wheaton's executor sued for back rent payments in federal circuit court. During trial proceedings, it became clear that there were errors made by both parties regarding their respective rights under Maryland state law; however, since no one could agree on which party was right or wrong based on existing legal precedent at the time of trial (1819), Chief Justice John Marshall issued an opinion stating that it is within the power of courts to interpret laws and determine whether they are constitutional or not—a concept known as judicial review—and ultimately ruled in favor of Richard Sexton due to lack of evidence presented by either side during trial proceedings. This decision set a major precedent for future cases involving disputes between states and citizens over matters such as taxation and other civil liberties issues related to government authority

In Wheaton v. Sexton's Lessee, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a reporter of decisions had an exclusive right to publish and sell his reports of judicial opinions. The majority opinion held that no such exclusive right existed; however, Justice Story delivered a dissenting opinion in which he argued that reporters should be allowed to have some form of copyright protection for their work. He reasoned that without this protection, there would be little incentive for them to spend time and money on preparing accurate reports since anyone could copy and reprint them without permission or compensation. Furthermore, he believed it was unfair for others who had not contributed anything towards the production of these works to benefit from someone else’s labor by selling copies at lower prices than those charged by the original publisher. In conclusion, Justice Story argued that allowing reporters some form of copyright protection would encourage accuracy in reporting while also providing just reward for their efforts