List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 163

This is a list of cases reported in volume 163 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1896.

Supreme Court of the United States
Map
38°53′26″N 77°00′16″W / 38.89056°N 77.00444°W / 38.89056; -77.00444
EstablishedMarch 4, 1789; 235 years ago (1789-03-04)
LocationWashington, D.C.
Coordinates38°53′26″N 77°00′16″W / 38.89056°N 77.00444°W / 38.89056; -77.00444
Composition methodPresidential nomination with Senate confirmation
Authorised byConstitution of the United States, Art. III, § 1
Judge term lengthlife tenure, subject to impeachment and removal
Number of positions9 (by statute)
Websitesupremecourt.gov

Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 163 U.S.

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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 163 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
  Melville Fuller Chief Justice Illinois Morrison Waite July 20, 1888
(41–20)
October 8, 1888

July 4, 1910
(Died)
  Stephen Johnson Field Associate Justice California newly created seat March 10, 1863
(Acclamation)
May 10, 1863

December 1, 1897
(Retired)
  John Marshall Harlan Associate Justice Kentucky David Davis November 29, 1877
(Acclamation)
December 10, 1877

October 14, 1911
(Died)
  Horace Gray Associate Justice Massachusetts Nathan Clifford December 20, 1881
(51–5)
January 9, 1882

September 15, 1902
(Died)
  David Josiah Brewer Associate Justice Kansas Stanley Matthews December 18, 1889
(53–11)
January 6, 1890

March 28, 1910
(Died)
  Henry Billings Brown Associate Justice Michigan Samuel Freeman Miller December 29, 1890
(Acclamation)
January 5, 1891

May 28, 1906
(Retired)
  George Shiras Jr. Associate Justice Pennsylvania Joseph P. Bradley July 26, 1892
(Acclamation)
October 10, 1892

February 23, 1903
(Retired)
  Edward Douglass White Associate Justice Louisiana Samuel Blatchford February 19, 1894
(Acclamation)
March 12, 1894

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

October 24, 1909
(Died)

Notable cases in 163 U.S.

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1904 caricature of "White" and "Jim Crow" rail cars by John T. McCutcheon

Plessy v. Ferguson

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Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896), is regarded as one of the worst decisions in U.S. Supreme Court history, solidifying the practice of "Jim Crow".[2] It is a landmark decision in which the Court ruled that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race were equal in quality, a doctrine that came to be known as "separate but equal".[3][4] The decision legitimized the many state laws re-establishing racial segregation that had been passed in the American South after the end of the Reconstruction Era (1865–1877). Despite its infamy, the decision itself has never been explicitly overruled.[5] But a series of the Court's later decisions, beginning with the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education—which held that the "separate but equal" doctrine is unconstitutional in the context of public schools and educational facilities—have severely weakened Plessy to the point that it is considered to have been de facto overruled.[6]

Wong Wing v. United States

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In Wong Wing v. United States, 163 U.S. 228 (1896), the Supreme Court found that the 5th and 6th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution forbid imprisonment without a jury trial for non-citizens convicted of illegal entry to, or presence in, the United States. This case established that non-citizens subject to criminal proceedings are entitled to the same constitutional protections available to citizens. The ruling was issued on the same day as the court upheld racial segregation laws in its infamous Plessy v. Ferguson decision.

Lucas v. United States

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In Lucas v. United States, 163 U.S. 612 (1896), the Supreme Court held that whether a Negro freedman was a member of the Choctaw Nation was a question of fact for a jury, and his non-Indian status may not be presumed.

Ball v. United States

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Ball v. United States, 163 U.S. 662 (1896), is one of the earliest Supreme Court cases interpreting the Double Jeopardy Clause. Departing from the English common law rule, and from early decisions of the state high courts of New York and Massachusetts, the Court held that—under the Double Jeopardy Clause—the insufficiency of an initial indictment did not result in a jeopardy bar of acquittal, as long as the first court had jurisdiction.

Citation style

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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 163 U.S.

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Case Name Page & year Opinion of the Court Concurring opinion(s) Dissenting opinion(s) Lower Court Disposition
Western Union T. Co. v. Taggart 1 (1896) Gray none none Ind. affirmed
Farmers' L. & T. Co. v. Chicago, P. & S. Ry. Co. 31 (1896) Brewer none none C.C.W.D. Wis. affirmed
Kirk v. United States 49 (1896) Brown none none Ct. Cl. affirmed
Wiggan v. Conolly 56 (1896) Brewer none none Kan. affirmed
Dibble v. Bellingham B.L. Co. 63 (1896) Fuller none none Wash. dismissed
Cornell v. Green 75 (1896) Gray none Brown C.C.N.D. Ill. dismissed
Lowe v. Kansas 81 (1896) Gray none Brown Kan. affirmed
Northern P.R.R. Co. v. Egeland 93 (1896) Peckham none none 8th Cir. affirmed
Telfener v. Russ 100 (1896) Field none none 5th Cir. rehearing denied
Murray v. Louisiana 101 (1896) Shiras none none La. affirmed
Salina S. Co. v. Salina C.I. Co. 109 (1896) Shiras none none Sup. Ct. Terr. Utah affirmed
Barnitz v. Beverly 118 (1896) Shiras none none Kan. reversed
United States v. Rider 132 (1896) Fuller none none C.C.S.D. Ohio dismissed
Harrison v. United States 140 (1896) Fuller none none N.D. Ala. reversed
Illinois C.R.R. Co. v. Illinois 142 (1896) Gray none none Ill. reversed
Webster v. Daly 155 (1896) Fuller none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. dismissed
Perego v. Dodge 160 (1896) Fuller none none Sup. Ct. Terr. Utah affirmed
Singer Mfg. Co. v. June Mfg. Co 169 (1896) White none none C.C.N.D. Ill. reversed
Singer Mfg. Co. v. Bent 205 (1896) White none none C.C.N.D. Ill. reversed
Bacon v. Texas 207 (1896) Peckham none none Tex. Civ. App. dismissed
Wong Wing v. United States 228 (1896) Shiras Field Field C.C.E.D. Mich. reversed
United States v. Winchester & P.R.R. Co. 244 (1896) Harlan none none Ct. Cl. reversed
United States v. Laws 258 (1896) Peckham none none 6th Cir. certification
Edwards v. Bates Cnty. 269 (1896) White none none C.C.W.D. Mo. reversed
Hanford v. Davies 273 (1896) Harlan none none C.C.D. Wash. affirmed
Rio Grande W. Ry. Co. v. Leak 280 (1896) Harlan none none Sup. Ct. Terr. Utah affirmed
Knights of Pythias v. Kalinski 289 (1896) Brown none none 5th Cir. affirmed
Hennington v. Georgia 299 (1896) Harlan none Fuller Ga. affirmed
Huntington v. Saunders 319 (1896) Fuller none none 1st Cir. dismissed
Burfenning v. Chicago et al. Ry. Co. 321 (1896) Brewer none none Minn. affirmed
Union Nat'l Bank v. Louisville et al. Ry. Co. 325 (1896) Brewer none none Ill. dismissed
Webster v. Luther 331 (1896) Harlan none none Minn. affirmed
Hilborn v. United States 342 (1896) Brown none none Ct. Cl. affirmed
The Steamer Coquitlam 346 (1896) Harlan none none 9th Cir. certification
Texas & P. Ry. Co. v. Gentry 353 (1896) Harlan none none 5th Cir. affirmed
Southern P.R.R. Co. v. Tomlinson 369 (1896) Gray none none Sup. Ct. Terr. Ariz. reversed
Talton v. Mayes 376 (1896) White none none C.C.W.D. Ark. affirmed
Meyer v. Richards 385 (1896) White none none C.C.E.D. La. reversed
Bank of Comm. v. Tennessee 416 (1896) Peckham none none Tenn. multiple
United States v. Realty Co. 427 (1896) Peckham none none C.C.E.D. La. affirmed
Black v. Elkhorn M. Co. 445 (1896) Peckham none none 9th Cir. affirmed
Faust v. United States 452 (1896) Shiras none none N.D. Tex. affirmed
Eddy v. Lafayette 456 (1896) Shiras none none 8th Cir. affirmed
Grayson v. Lynch 468 (1896) Brown none none Sup. Ct. Terr. N.M. affirmed
Union P. Ry. Co. v. James 485 (1896) Brewer none none 8th Cir. affirmed
Missouri et al. Ry. Co. v. Cook 491 (1896) Fuller none none Kan. affirmed
United States v. Allen 499 (1896) White none none 9th Cir. reversed
Ward v. Race Horse 504 (1896) White none Brown C.C.D. Wyo. reversed
Indiana v. Kentucky 520 (1896) Fuller none none original boundary set
Plessy v. Ferguson 537 (1896) Brown none Harlan La. affirmed
Union P. Ry. Co. v. Chicago et al. Ry. Co. 564 (1896) Fuller none Shiras 8th Cir. affirmed
Lucas v. United States 612 (1896) Shiras none none C.C.W.D. Ark. reversed
Brown v. Wygant 618 (1896) Shiras none none Sup. Ct. D.C. affirmed
United States v. Perkins 625 (1896) Brown none none N.Y. Sup. Ct. affirmed
United States v. Fitch 631 (1896) per curiam none none N.Y. Sup. Ct. affirmed
Wiborg v. United States 632 (1896) Fuller none Harlan E.D. Pa. multiple
United States v. Ball 662 (1896) Gray none none C.C.E.D. Tex. multiple

Notes and references

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  1. ^ "Supreme Court Research Guide". Georgetown Law Library. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  2. ^ Amar (2011), p. 76; Epstein (1995), p. 99.
  3. ^ Nowak & Rotunda (2012), § 18.8(c).
  4. ^ Groves, Harry E. (1951). "Separate but Equal—The Doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson". Phylon. 12 (1): 66–72. doi:10.2307/272323. JSTOR 272323.
  5. ^ Lofgren (1987), pp. 204–05.
  6. ^ Schauer (1997), pp. 279–80.

Sources

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See also

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