Shipp's actions resulted in his prosecution by the US Department of Justice. Included as defendants were his chief jailer and the members of the lynch mob who could be reasonably identified. When the case came to the Supreme Court, the government was represented by both Solicitor General Henry M. Hoyt and Attorney General William H. Moody. Shipp's attorneys argued that the Supreme Court was not competent to hear the case, as it was now a party to the case in that it was involved in the action as a plaintiff rather than as a court.