List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 208

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Supreme Court of the United States
Seal of the United States Supreme Court.svg
EstablishedMarch 4, 1789;234 years ago (1789-03-04)
Location Washington, D.C.
Coordinates 38°53′26″N77°00′16″W / 38.89056°N 77.00444°W / 38.89056; -77.00444 Coordinates: 38°53′26″N77°00′16″W / 38.89056°N 77.00444°W / 38.89056; -77.00444
Composition methodPresidential nomination with Senate confirmation
Authorized by Constitution of the United States, Art. III, § 1
Judge term lengthlife tenure, subject to impeachment and removal
Number of positions9 (by statute)
Website supremecourt.gov

This is a list of cases reported in volume 208 of United States Reports , decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1908.

Contents

Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 208 U.S.

The Supreme Court is established by Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of the United States, which says: "The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court . . .". The size of the Court is not specified; the Constitution leaves it to Congress to set the number of justices. Under the Judiciary Act of 1789 Congress originally fixed the number of justices at six (one chief justice and five associate justices). [1] Since 1789 Congress has varied the size of the Court from six to seven, nine, ten, and back to nine justices (always including one chief justice).

When the cases in volume 208 were decided the Court comprised the following nine members:

PortraitJusticeOfficeHome StateSucceededDate confirmed by the Senate
(Vote)
Tenure on Supreme Court
Melville Weston Fuller Chief Justice 1908.jpg Melville Fuller Chief Justice Illinois Morrison Waite July 20, 1888
(41–20)
October 8, 1888

July 4, 1910
(Died)
JudgeJMHarlan.jpg John Marshall Harlan Associate Justice Kentucky David Davis November 29, 1877
(Acclamation)
December 10, 1877

October 14, 1911
(Died)
DavidBrewer.jpg David Josiah Brewer Associate Justice Kansas Stanley Matthews December 18, 1889
(53–11)
January 6, 1890

March 28, 1910
(Died)
Edward White, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing slightly left, 1905.jpg Edward Douglass White Associate Justice Louisiana Samuel Blatchford February 19, 1894
(Acclamation)
March 12, 1894

December 18, 1910
(Continued as chief justice)
Rufus Wheeler Peckham cph.3b30513.jpg Rufus W. Peckham Associate Justice New York Howell Edmunds Jackson December 9, 1895
(Acclamation)
January 6, 1896

October 24, 1909
(Died)
Justice McKenna.jpg Joseph McKenna Associate Justice California Stephen Johnson Field January 21, 1898
(Acclamation)
January 26, 1898

January 5, 1925
(Retired)
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr circa 1930-edit.jpg Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Associate Justice Massachusetts Horace Gray December 4, 1902
(Acclamation)
December 8, 1902

January 12, 1932
(Retired)
Justice William R. Day.jpg William R. Day Associate Justice Ohio George Shiras Jr. February 23, 1903
(Acclamation)
March 2, 1903

November 13, 1922
(Retired)
WHMoody.jpg William Henry Moody Associate Justice Massachusetts Henry Billings Brown December 12, 1906
(Acclamation)
December 17, 1906

November 20, 1910
(Retired)

Notable Cases in 208 U.S.

Adair v. United States

Adair v. United States , 208 U.S. 161 (1908), was a United States labor law case in which the Supreme Court declared that bans on "yellow-dog" contracts (that forbade workers from joining labor unions) were unconstitutional. The decision reaffirmed the doctrine of freedom of contract which was first recognized by the Court in Allgeyer v. Louisiana (1897). For this reason, Adair is often seen as defining what has come to be known as the Lochner era, a period in American legal history in which the Supreme Court tended to invalidate legislation aimed at regulating business. [2] [3]

Loewe v. Lawlor

Loewe v. Lawlor , 208 U.S. 274 (1908), also called the Danbury Hatters' Case, is a Supreme Court case in United States labor law concerning the application of antitrust laws to labor unions. The Court's decision effectively outlawed the secondary boycott as a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, despite union arguments that their actions affected only intrastate commerce. [4] It was also decided that individual unionists could be held personally liable for damages incurred by the activities of their union.

Muller v. Oregon

In Muller v. Oregon , 208 U.S. 412 (1908), the Supreme Court upheld the general police powers of a state to protect the welfare of women even when it infringed on her fundamental right to negotiate contracts. Inequality, the Court said, was not a deciding factor because the sexes were inherently different in their particular conditions and had completely different functions; labor laws that were made to nurture women's welfare and for the "benefit of all" people were held not to be a violation of the Constitution's Contract Clause.

Citation style

Under the Judiciary Act of 1789 the federal court structure at the time comprised District Courts, which had general trial jurisdiction; Circuit Courts, which had mixed trial and appellate (from the US District Courts) jurisdiction; and the United States Supreme Court, which had appellate jurisdiction over the federal District and Circuit courts—and for certain issues over state courts. The Supreme Court also had limited original jurisdiction (i.e., in which cases could be filed directly with the Supreme Court without first having been heard by a lower federal or state court). There were one or more federal District Courts and/or Circuit Courts in each state, territory, or other geographical region.

The Judiciary Act of 1891 created the United States Courts of Appeals and reassigned the jurisdiction of most routine appeals from the district and circuit courts to these appellate courts. The Act created nine new courts that were originally known as the "United States Circuit Courts of Appeals." The new courts had jurisdiction over most appeals of lower court decisions. The Supreme Court could review either legal issues that a court of appeals certified or decisions of court of appeals by writ of certiorari.

Bluebook citation style is used for case names, citations, and jurisdictions.

List of cases in volume 208 U.S.

Case NamePage and yearOpinion of the CourtConcurring opinion(s)Dissenting opinion(s)Lower CourtDisposition
Carrington v. United States 1 (1908) Holmesnonenone Phil. reversed
Chin Yow v. United States 8 (1908) Holmesnonenone N.D. Cal. reversed
New York ex rel. E. and J. Burke, Ltd. v. Wells 14 (1908) Daynonenone N.Y. Sup. Ct. affirmed
Yosemite Gold Mining and Milling Company v. Emerson 25 (1908) Daynonenone Cal. affirmed
United States v. Miller 32 (1908) Daynonenone Ct. Cl. affirmed
Wabash Railroad Company v. Adelbert College I 38 (1908) Moodynonenone Ohio reversed
Winslow v. Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company 59 (1908) Moodynonenone D.C. Cir. affirmed
Bluthenthal v. Jones 64 (1908) Moodynonenone Fla. affirmed
Prosser v. Finn 67 (1908) Harlannonenone Wash. affirmed
Blacklock v. United States 75 (1908) Harlannonenone Ct. Cl. affirmed
In re Metropolitan Railway Receivership 90 (1908) Peckhamnonenone 2d Cir. mandamus denied
I.M. Darnell and Son Company v. City of Memphis 113 (1908) Whitenonenone Tenn. reversed
Southern Pine Lumber Company v. Ward 126 (1908) Whitenonenone Sup. Ct. Terr. Okla. affirmed
Ex parte Simon 144 (1908) Holmesnonenone C.C.D. (unspecified) habeas corpus denied
Houghton v. Meyer 149 (1908) Daynonenone D.C. Cir. affirmed
Adair v. United States 161 (1908) HarlannoneMcKenna; Holmes E.D. Ky. reversed
Braxton County v. West Virginia ex rel. Tax Commissioners 192 (1908) Brewernonenone W. Va. dismissed
United States v. Graf Distilling Company 198 (1908) Peckhamnonenone 8th Cir. certification
Penn Refining Company, Ltd. v. Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad Company 208 (1908) PeckhamnoneMoody 3d Cir. affirmed
Elder v. Wood 226 (1908) Moodynonenone Colo. affirmed
Missouri Valley Land Company v. Wiese 234 (1908) Whitenonenone Neb. affirmed
Missouri Valley Land Company v. Wrich 250 (1908) Whitenonenone Neb. affirmed
Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad Company v. Doughty 251 (1908) McKennanonenone N.D. affirmed
United Dictionary Company v. G. and C. Merriam Company 260 (1908) Holmesnonenone 7th Cir. affirmed
Donnell v. Herring Hall Marvin Safe Company 267 (1908) Holmesnonenone 7th Cir. reversed
Loewe v. Lawlor 274 (1908) Fullernonenone 2d Cir. reversed
Lewis v. Herrera 309 (1908) Fullernonenone Ariz. affirmed
Cleveland Terminal and Valley Railroad Company v. Cleveland Steamship Company 316 (1908) Fullernonenone N.D. Ohio affirmed
The Troy 321 (1908) Fullernonenone W.D. Wis. affirmed
Armstrong v. Fernandez 324 (1908) Fullernonenone D.P.R. affirmed
United States v. Larkin 333 (1908) Fullernonenone N.D. Ohio dismissed
Dick v. United States 340 (1908) Harlannonenone D. Idaho affirmed
Atlantic Trust Company v. Chapman 360 (1908) Harlannonenone 9th Cir. reversed
Cosmopolitan Club v. Virginia 378 (1908) Harlannonenone Va. affirmed
Bassing v. Cady 386 (1908) Harlannonenone R.I. Super. Ct. affirmed
United States v. Bitty 393 (1908) Harlannonenone C.C.S.D.N.Y. reversed
Henningsen v. United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company of Baltimore 404 (1908) Brewernonenone 9th Cir. affirmed
Muller v. Oregon 412 (1908) Brewernonenone Or. affirmed
Bien v. Robinson 423 (1908) Whitenonenone C.C.S.D.N.Y. dismissed
Notley v. Brown 429 (1908) Whitenonenone Sup. Ct. Terr. Haw. dismissed
Calvo v. De Gutierrez 443 (1908) Whitenonenone Phil. affirmed
Great Northern Railroad Company v. United States 452 (1908) Whitenonenone 8th Cir. affirmed
Phillips v. Mobile 472 (1908) Peckhamnonenone Ala. affirmed
Richard v. Mobile 480 (1908) Peckhamnonenone C.C.S.D. Ala. affirmed
Ughbanks v. Armstrong 481 (1908) Peckhamnonenone Mich. affirmed
Jetton v. University of the South 489 (1908) Peckhamnonenone C.C.M.D. Tenn. reversed
Bennett v. Bennett 505 (1908) McKennanonenone Sup. Ct. Terr. Okla. affirmed
Crary v. Dye 515 (1908) McKennanonenone Sup. Ct. Terr. N.M. affirmed
Starr v. Campbell 527 (1908) McKennanonenone C.C.W.D. Wis. affirmed
Drumm Flato Commission Company v. Edmisson 534 (1908) McKennanonenone Sup. Ct. Terr. Okla. affirmed
Rankin v. City National Bank 541 (1908) Holmesnonenone 8th Cir. affirmed
First National Bank v. Albright 548 (1908) Holmesnonenone Sup. Ct. Terr. N.M. affirmed
Herring Hall Marvin Safe Company v. Hall's Safe Company 554 (1908) Holmesnonenone 6th Cir. affirmed
United States v. Sisseton and Wahpeton Bands 561 (1908) Holmesnonenone Ct. Cl. affirmed
Disconto GmbH v. Umbreit 570 (1908) Daynonenone Wis. Cir. Ct. affirmed
Northern Pacific Railroad Company v. Minnesota ex rel. City of Duluth 583 (1908) Daynonenone Minn. affirmed
Hairston v. Danville and Western Railroad Company 598 (1908) Moodynonenone Va. affirmed
Wabash Railroad Company v. Adelbert College II 609 (1908) Moodynonenone Ohio rehearing denied

Notes and references

    1. "Supreme Court Research Guide". Georgetown Law Library. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
    2. Philips, Michael J. The Lochner Court, Myth and Reality: Substantive Due Process from the 1890s to the 1930s. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2001. p. 10.
    3. Wiecek, William M. The History of the Supreme Court of the United States. Volume 12, The Birth of the Modern Constitution: The United States Supreme Court, 1941–1953. Cambridge University Press, 2006. p. 25 f.
    4. Carter, Saalim A. Labor Unions and Antitrust Legislation: Judicial Activism vs. Judicial Restraint from 1890-1941. Penn State University, 2006. p. 28.

    See also