This is a list of cases reported in volume 236 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1915.
Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 236 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). 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 236 were decided the Court comprised the following nine members:
Portrait Justice Office Home State Succeeded Date confirmed by the Senate(Vote) Tenure on Supreme Court Edward Douglass White Chief Justice Louisiana Melville Fuller (Acclamation) –May 19, 1921(Died) Joseph McKenna Associate Justice California Stephen Johnson Field (Acclamation) –January 5, 1925(Retired) Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Associate Justice Massachusetts Horace Gray (Acclamation) –January 12, 1932(Retired) William R. Day Associate Justice Ohio George Shiras Jr. (Acclamation) –November 13, 1922(Retired) Charles Evans Hughes Associate Justice New York David Josiah Brewer (Acclamation) –June 10, 1916(Resigned) Willis Van Devanter Associate Justice Wyoming Edward Douglass White (as Associate Justice) (Acclamation) –June 2, 1937(Retired) Joseph Rucker Lamar Associate Justice Georgia William Henry Moody (Acclamation) –January 2, 1916(Died) Mahlon Pitney Associate Justice New Jersey John Marshall Harlan (50–26) –December 31, 1922(Resigned) James Clark McReynolds Associate Justice Tennessee Horace Harmon Lurton (44–6) –January 31, 1941(Retired)
Notable Cases in 236 U.S. Coppage v. Kansas In Coppage v. Kansas, 236 U.S. 1 (1915), a case relating to United States labor law, the Supreme Court upheld a statute allowing employers to implement so-called "yellow-dog" contracts, which forbade employees from joining unions. The case was decided in an era when, under the legal abstraction of liberty of contract, the Court often invalidated laws restricting employment contracts, while ignoring the reality of disparate power that employers have over employees in imposing contractual terms.
Mutual Film Corp. v. Industrial Commission of Ohio In Mutual Film Corp. v. Industrial Commission of Ohio, 236 U.S. 230 (1915), the Supreme Court held that free speech protections in the Ohio Constitution, which were substantially similar to those in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, did not extend to motion pictures.
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. On January 1, 1912, the effective date of the Judicial Code of 1911, the old Circuit Courts were abolished, with their remaining trial court jurisdiction transferred to the U.S. District Courts.
Bluebook citation style is used for case names, citations, and jurisdictions. "# Cir." = United States Court of Appeals e.g., "3d Cir." = United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit "D." = United States District Court for the District of . . . e.g.,"D. Mass." = United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts "E." = Eastern; "M." = Middle; "N." = Northern; "S." = Southern; "W." = Western e.g.,"M.D. Ala." = United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama "Ct. Cl." = United States Court of Claims The abbreviation of a state's name alone indicates the highest appellate court in that state's judiciary at the time. e.g.,"Pa." = Supreme Court of Pennsylvania e.g.,"Me." = Supreme Judicial Court of Maine
List of cases in volume 236 U.S.
Case Name Page & year Opinion of the Court Concurring opinion(s) Dissenting opinion(s) Lower Court Disposition Coppage v. Kansas1 (1915) Pitney none Holmes, Day Kan. reversed Kinney v. Plymouth R.S. Co.43 (1915) White none none multiple in forma pauperis denied Yost v. Dallas Cnty.50 (1915) Holmes none none 8th Cir. certification Reynolds v. Fewell58 (1915) Hughes none none Okla. affirmed Shellenbarger v. Fewell68 (1915) Hughes none none Okla. affirmed Lesser v. Gray70 (1915) McReynolds none none Ga. Ct. App. affirmed Stearns v. Wood75 (1915) McReynolds none none N.D. Ohio dismissed Burdick v. United States79 (1915) McKenna none none S.D.N.Y. reversed Curtin v. United States96 (1915) McKenna none none S.D.N.Y. reversed Duffy v. Charak97 (1915) Holmes none none 1st Cir. reversed City of Denver v. Home S. Bank101 (1915) Holmes none none 8th Cir. affirmed United States v. Jones106 (1915) VanDevanter none none Ct. Cl. affirmed Simon v. Southern R.R. Co.115 (1915) Lamar none none 5th Cir. affirmed Grant et al. Co. v. Gray133 (1915) Holmes none none La. affirmed Gallardo y S. v. Noble135 (1915) Holmes none none D.P.R. reversed United States v. Holte140 (1915) Holmes none Lamar E.D. Wis. reversed Wilmington T. Co. v. California R.R. Comm'n151 (1915) Hughes none none Cal. affirmed Illinois C.R.R. Co. v. Fuentes157 (1915) McReynolds none none E.D. La. reversed D.R. Wilder Mfg. Co. v. Corn P.R. Co.165 (1915) White none none Ga. Ct. App. affirmed Heyman v. Hays178 (1915) White none none Tenn. reversed Southern O. Co. v. Hays188 (1915) White none none Tenn. reversed Washington et al. R.R. Co. v. Downey190 (1915) White none none D.C. Cir. dismissed United States v. Terminal R.R. Ass'n194 (1915) White none none E.D. Mo. affirmed Evens et al. Co. v. United States210 (1915) White none none E.D. Mo. affirmed Olympia M. & M. Co. v. Kerns211 (1915) White none none Idaho dismissed Brolan v. United States216 (1915) White none none N.D. Cal. dismissed Truskett v. Closser223 (1915) McKenna none none 8th Cir. affirmed Mutual F. Co. v. Industrial Comm'n I230 (1915) McKenna none none N.D. Ohio affirmed Mutual F. Co. v. Industrial Comm'n II247 (1915) McKenna none none N.D. Ohio affirmed Mutual F. Corp. v. Hodges248 (1915) McKenna none none D. Kan. affirmed United States v. Erie R.R. Co.259 (1915) McKenna none none S.D.N.Y. affirmed Fox v. Washington273 (1915) Holmes none none Wash. affirmed G.N. Pierce Co. v. Wells Fargo & Co.278 (1915) Day none none 2d Cir. affirmed Globe B. & T. Co. v. Martin288 (1915) Day none none 6th Cir. affirmed Iowa C.R.R. Co. v. Bacon305 (1915) Day none none Iowa affirmed American et al. Co. v. Kettlehake311 (1915) Day none none Mo. Ct. App. affirmed United States v. Louisville & N.R.R. Co.318 (1915) Day none none W.D. Ky. affirmed Rail & R.C. Co. v. Yaple338 (1915) Day none none N.D. Ohio affirmed Pennsylvania Co. v. United States351 (1915) Day none White W.D. Pa. affirmed Miller v. Wilson373 (1915) Hughes none none Cal. affirmed Bosley v. McLaughlin385 (1915) Hughes none none N.D. Cal. affirmed Wright B. Co. v. United States397 (1915) Hughes none none 5th Cir. affirmed United States v. Smull405 (1915) Hughes none none D. Or. reversed Meeker & Co. v. Lehigh V.R.R. Co.412 (1915) VanDevanter none none 3d Cir. reversed Southern R.R. Co. v. Indiana R.R. Comm'n439 (1915) Lamar none none Ind. reversed Lehman S. & Co. v. S. Gumbel & Co.448 (1915) Lamar none none La. affirmed Toledo et al. R.R. Co. v. Slavin454 (1915) Lamar none none Ohio reversed United States v. Midwest O. Co.459 (1915) Lamar none Day 8th Cir. reversed United States v. United States F. & G. Co.512 (1915) Pitney none none 9th Cir. reversed Joplin M. Co. v. United States531 (1915) Pitney none none 8th Cir. affirmed Williams v. United States F. & G. Co.549 (1915) McReynolds none none Ga. Ct. App. reversed Gleason v. Thaw558 (1915) McReynolds none none 2d Cir. affirmed McCoach v. Pratt562 (1915) VanDevanter none none 3d Cir. affirmed Kirmeyer v. Kansas568 (1915) McReynolds none none Kan. reversed Linn & L.T. Co. v. United States574 (1915) Holmes none none 9th Cir. affirmed Ramapo W. Co. v. City of New York579 (1915) Holmes none none S.D.N.Y. affirmed Northern P.R.R. Co. v. North Dakota ex rel. McCue585 (1915) Hughes none none N.D. reversed Norfolk & W.R.R. Co. v. Conley605 (1915) Hughes none none W. Va. reversed Michigan C.R.R. Co. v. Michigan R.R. Comm'n615 (1915) Pitney none none Mich. affirmed Wilson C. Co. v. Del Pozo y M.635 (1915) McKenna none none 5th Cir. reversed McCormick v. Oklahoma City657 (1915) McKenna none none 8th Cir. dismissed American S.M. Co. v. Kentucky660 (1915) McKenna none none Ky. reversed A.J. Phillips Co. v. Grand Trunk W.R.R. Co.662 (1915) Lamar none none 6th Cir. affirmed Seaboard et al. R.R. Co. v. Padgett668 (1915) White none none S.C. affirmed Wright v. Central of Ga. R.R. Co.674 (1915) Holmes none none N.D. Ga. affirmed Wright v. Louisville & N.R.R. Co.687 (1915) Holmes none none 5th Cir. affirmed Newman v. Lynchburg I. Corp.692 (1915) Holmes none none D.C. Cir. affirmed Davis v. Virginia697 (1915) Holmes none none Va. reversed Dalton A.M. Co. v. State C. Comm'n699 (1915) Holmes none none E.D. Va. affirmed Great N.R.R. Co. v. Hower702 (1915) Day none none Wash. reversed St. Louis S.R.R. Co. v. Spring R.S. Co.718 (1915) McReynolds none none Mo. Ct. App. affirmed W.S. Tyler Co. v. Ludlow S.W. Co.723 (1915) McReynolds none none S.D.N.Y. affirmed
Notes and references
External links Case reports in volume 236 from Library of Congress Case reports in volume 236 from Court Listener Case reports in volume 236 from the Caselaw Access Project of Harvard Law School Case reports in volume 236 from Google Scholar Case reports in volume 236 from Justia Case reports in volume 236 from Open Jurist Website of the United States Supreme Court United States Courts website about the Supreme Court National Archives, Records of the Supreme Court of the United States American Bar Association, How Does the Supreme Court Work? The Supreme Court Historical Society