In the case of Woody v. United States in 1958, the Supreme Court ruled on an issue related to Native American religious practices and federal law enforcement jurisdiction. The defendant, a Navajo Indian named Woody, was charged with violating Arizona state laws prohibiting peyote use after participating in a traditional religious ceremony involving the substance on tribal land. He appealed his conviction arguing that it violated his First Amendment rights to freedom of religion and that state laws did not apply on tribal lands. The Supreme Court sided with Woody, ruling that Arizona's prohibition against peyote could not be enforced within reservation boundaries due to existing federal law which gave tribes exclusive jurisdiction over minor offenses committed by their members on their own land. Additionally, they found that applying such prohibitions would infringe upon Native Americans' right to practice their religion freely under the First Amendment. This decision underscored both tribal sovereignty issues as well as protections for religious freedom under U.S constitutional law.

In the dissenting opinion for Woody v. United States, it was argued that the majority's decision failed to adequately consider and respect Native American religious practices. The dissenting justices believed that the prosecution of a Navajo man for using peyote in a religious ceremony violated his First Amendment rights to freedom of religion. They contended that while there may be valid reasons for prohibiting peyote use generally, exceptions should be made when its use is part of sincere religious practice. This view held that such an exception would not undermine law enforcement efforts or public safety but rather uphold fundamental constitutional protections around freedom of belief and worship.