This is a list of cases reported in volume 121 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1887.

Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 121 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 121 U.S. 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 Morrison Waite Chief Justice Ohio Salmon P. Chase (63–0) –March 23, 1888(Died) Samuel Freeman Miller Associate Justice Iowa Peter Vivian Daniel (Acclamation) –October 13, 1890(Died) Stephen Johnson Field Associate Justice California newly created seat (Acclamation)–December 1, 1897(Retired) Joseph P. Bradley Associate Justice New Jersey newly created seat (46–9) –January 22, 1892(Died) John Marshall Harlan Associate Justice Kentucky David Davis (Acclamation) –October 14, 1911(Died) William Burnham Woods Associate Justice Georgia William Strong (39–8) –May 14, 1887(Died) Stanley Matthews Associate Justice Ohio Noah Haynes Swayne (24–23) –March 22, 1889(Died) Horace Gray Associate Justice Massachusetts Nathan Clifford (51–5) –September 15, 1902(Died) Samuel Blatchford Associate Justice New York Ward Hunt (Acclamation) –July 7, 1893(Died)

Notable Case in 121 U.S. Ex parte Bain In Ex parte Bain, 121 U.S. 1 (1887), the Supreme Court held that when an indictment is filed with a federal court, no change can be made in the body of the instrument by order of the court or by the prosecuting attorney without resubmitting the case to the grand jury. Even though a court may deem a change immaterial, the instrument, as revised, is no longer the indictment of the grand jury which presented it. Bain was overruled in part by the Court in United States v. Cotton, 535 U.S. 625 (2002).

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.

Bluebook citation style is used for case names, citations, and jurisdictions. "C.C.D." = United States Circuit Court for the District of . . . e.g.,"C.C.D.N.J." = United States Circuit Court for the District of New Jersey "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.,"C.C.S.D.N.Y." = United States Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York 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 121 U.S.

Case Name Page and year Opinion of the Court Concurring opinion(s) Dissenting opinion(s) Lower Court Disposition Ex parte Bain 1 (1887) Miller None None C.C.E.D. Va. habeas corpus granted Worden v. Searls 14 (1887) Blatchford None None C.C.E.D. Mich. reversed Richmond v. Irons 27 (1887) Matthews None None C.C.N.D. Ill. reversed Merchants' Insurance Company v. Allen 67 (1887) Waite None None C.C.E.D. La. affirmed First National Bank v. Shedd 74 (1887) Waite None None C.C.W.D. Pa. affirmed Carper v. Fitzgerald 87 (1887) Waite None None C.C.E.D. Va. dismissed United States v. McDougall's Administrator 89 (1887) Harlan None None Ct. Cl. reversed Royall v. Virginia 102 (1887) Waite None None Va. reversed Grant v. Phoenix Life Insurance Company 118 (1887) Blatchford None None Sup. Ct. D.C. affirmed Town of Bloomfield v. Charter Oak National Bank 121 (1887) Gray None None C.C.D. Conn. reversed Mercantile National Bank v. City of New York 138 (1887) Matthews None None C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed National Newark Banking Company v. City of Newark 163 (1887) Matthews None None C.C.D.N.J. affirmed Town of Concord v. Robinson 165 (1887) Harlan None None C.C.N.D. Ill. reversed Katzenberger v. City of Aberdeen 172 (1887) Waite None None N.D. Miss. affirmed Laidly v. Huntington 179 (1887) Waite None None D.W. Va. reversed Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway Company v. Dunn 182 (1887) Waite None None Minn. case advanced Estes and Doan v. Gunter 183 (1887) Waite None None N.D. Miss. dismissed Barron v. Burnside 186 (1887) Blatchford None None Iowa reversed McConihay v. Wright 201 (1887) Matthews None None D.W. Va. affirmed Francklyn v. A. & W. Sprague Manufacturing Company 215 (1887) Bradley None None C.C.D.R.I. affirmed City of Fargo v. Stevens 230 (1887) Miller None None Mich. reversed Covington Stockyards Company v. Keith 248 (1887) Waite None None C.C.D. Ky. stay denied Penn v. Calhoun 251 (1887) Waite None None C.C.S.D. Ill. affirmed Menard v. Goggan 253 (1887) Waite None None C.C.E.D. Tex. reversed United States v. Phillips 254 (1887) Waite None None C.C.W.D. Tex. dismissed Cleveland Rolling Mill Company v. Rhodes 255 (1887) Gray None None C.C.N.D. Ill. reversed Hinckley v. Pittsburgh Bessemer Steel Company 264 (1887) Blatchford None None C.C.N.D. Ill. affirmed United States v. Le Bris 278 (1887) Waite None None C.C.D. Minn. certification Parkinson v. United States 281 (1887) Waite None None C.C.D. Nev. reversed Church v. Kelsey 282 (1887) Waite None None Pa. affirmed Louisiana National Bank v. Whitney 284 (1887) Waite None None C.C.E.D. La. dismissed Dugger v. Tayloe 286 (1887) Waite None None Ala. affirmed Thatcher Heating Company v. Burtis 286 (1887) Matthews None None C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed Minneapolis Agricultural and Mechanical Association v. Canfield 295 (1887) Matthews None None C.C.D. Minn. affirmed Huiskamp Brothers v. Moline Wagon Company 310 (1887) Blatchford None None C.C.W.D. Mo. reversed Maxwell Land-Grant Case 325 (1887) Miller None None C.C.D. Colo. affirmed Fisher v. Kelsey 383 (1887) Harlan None None C.C.E.D. Mo. affirmed Lehigh Water Company v. Borough of Easton 388 (1887) Harlan None None Pa. affirmed Noonan v. Caledonia Gold Mining Company 393 (1887) Field None None Sup. Ct. Terr. Dakota affirmed Winslow, Lanier and Company v. Nash 404 (1887) Waite None None C.C.N.D. Ohio affirmed Laughlin v. Mitchell 411 (1887) Blatchford None None C.C.S.D. Miss. affirmed Carson v. Dunham 421 (1887) Waite None None C.C.D.S.C. affirmed Milwaukee and Northern Railway v. Brooks Locomotive Works 430 (1887) Matthews None None C.C.E.D. Wis. affirmed Ouachita Packet Company v. Aiken and Company 444 (1887) Bradley None None C.C.E.D. La. affirmed Albany and Rensselaer Company v. Lundberg 451 (1887) Gray None None C.C.S.D.N.Y. reversed Boynton v. Ball 457 (1887) Miller None None Ill. reversed The John H. Pearson 469 (1887) Waite None None C.C.D. Mass. reversed Carpenter v. Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company 474 (1887) Miller None None Sup. Ct. D.C. affirmed Bragg v. Fitch 478 (1887) Bradley None None C.C.D. Conn. reversed McCoy v. Nelson 484 (1887) Blatchford None None C.C.D. Colo. reversed Wright v. Roseberry 488 (1887) Field None None Cal. reversed Robinson v. Anderson 522 (1887) Waite None None C.C.D. Cal. affirmed Wilson's Executor v. Deen 525 (1887) Field None None C.C.S.D.N.Y. reversed Stanley v. Albany County 535 (1887) Field None None C.C.N.D.N.Y. affirmed Frost v. Spitley 552 (1887) Gray None None C.C.D. Neb. reversed Metropolitan Railroad Company v. Moore 558 (1887) Matthews None None Sup. Ct. D.C. reversed McGowan Pump Company v. American Pressed Tan Bark Company 575 (1887) Blatchford None None C.C.S.D. Ohio affirmed Hartranft, Collector of Customs for the District of Philadelphia v. J.H. Wiegmann and Son 609 (1887) Blatchford None None C.C.E.D. Pa. affirmed Hartranft, Collector of Customs for the District of Philadelphia v. Winters 616 (1887) Blatchford None None C.C.E.D. Pa. affirmed Snow v. Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Company 617 (1887) Matthews None None C.C.N.D.N.Y. affirmed Peninsular Iron Company v. Stone 631 (1887) Waite None None C.C.S.D. Iowa reversed Lawrence v. Morgan's Railroad and Steamship Company 634 (1887) Waite None None C.C.E.D. La. affirmed New Jersey Steamboat Company v. Brockett 637 (1887) Harlan None None C.C.N.D.N.Y. affirmed

Notes and references

External links Case reports in volume 121 from Library of Congress Case reports in volume 121 from Court Listener Case reports in volume 121 from the Caselaw Access Project of Harvard Law School Case reports in volume 121 from Google Scholar Case reports in volume 121 from Justia Case reports in volume 121 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