List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 118

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Supreme Court of the United States
Seal of the United States Supreme Court.svg
EstablishedMarch 4, 1789; 233 years ago (1789-03-04)[1]
LocationWashington, D.C.
Coordinates38°53′26″N 77°00′16″W / 38.89056°N 77.00444°W / 38.89056; -77.00444Coordinates: 38°53′26″N 77°00′16″W / 38.89056°N 77.00444°W / 38.89056; -77.00444
Composition methodPresidential nomination with Senate confirmation
Authorized byConstitution of the United States, Art. III, § 1
Judge term lengthlife tenure, subject to impeachment and removal
Number of positions9 (by statute)
Websitesupremecourt.gov

This is a list of the 69 cases reported in volume 118 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1886.

Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 118 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).[2] 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 118 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
Chief Justice Morrison Waite.jpg Morrison Waite Chief Justice Ohio Salmon P. Chase January 21, 1874
(63–0)
March 4, 1874

March 23, 1888
(Died)
Samuel Freeman Miller - Brady-Handy.jpg Samuel Freeman Miller Associate Justice Iowa Peter Vivian Daniel July 16, 1862
(Acclamation)
July 21, 1862

October 13, 1890
(Died)
Stephen Johnson Field, photo half length seated, 1875.jpg Stephen Johnson Field Associate Justice California newly-created seat March 10, 1863
(Acclamation)
May 10, 1863

December 1, 1897
(Retired)
Joseph Philo Bradley - Brady-Handy.jpg Joseph P. Bradley Associate Justice New Jersey newly-created seat March 21, 1870
(46–9)
March 23, 1870

January 22, 1892
(Died)
JudgeJMHarlan.jpg John Marshall Harlan Associate Justice Kentucky David Davis November 29, 1877
(Acclamation)
December 10, 1877

October 14, 1911
(Died)
William Burnham Woods.jpg William Burnham Woods Associate Justice Georgia William Strong December 21, 1880
(39–8)
January 5, 1881

May 14, 1887
(Died)
Thomas Stanley Matthews - Brady-Handy.jpg Stanley Matthews Associate Justice Ohio Noah Haynes Swayne May 12, 1881
(24–23)
May 17, 1881

March 22, 1889
(Died)
Horacegrayphoto.jpg Horace Gray Associate Justice Massachusetts Nathan Clifford December 20, 1881
(51–5)
January 9, 1882

September 15, 1902
(Died)
Samuel Blatchford, US Supreme Court Justice.png Samuel Blatchford Associate Justice New York Ward Hunt March 22, 1882
(Acclamation)
April 3, 1882

July 7, 1893
(Died)

Notable Cases in 118 U.S.[]

Bancroft Davis, the Reporter of Decisions who wrote the headnote in Santa Clara County.

Yick Wo v. Hopkins[]

Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 356 (1886), was the first case in which the Supreme Court held that a law, race-neutral on its face but administered in a prejudicial manner, is an infringement of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. By the 1950s, the Warren Court used the principle established in Yick Wo to strike down several attempts by states and municipalities in the Deep South to limit the political rights of blacks. Yick Wo has been cited in more than 150 Supreme Court cases since it was decided.

Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific R.R. Co.[]

Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific R.R. Co., 394 (1886), is a corporate law case concerning taxation of railroad properties. The case is most notable for a headnote written by the Supreme Court's Reporter of Decisions, Bancroft Davis, stating that the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment grants constitutional protections to corporations as it does to natural persons, although the text of the decision itself does not establish this principle.

Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway Co. v. Illinois[]

In Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railway Co. v. Illinois, 557 (1886), also known as the Wabash Case, the Supreme Court severely limited the rights of states to control or impede interstate commerce. The decision led to the creation of the federal Interstate Commerce Commission, the first modern regulatory agency in the United States.

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
  • "Adm." = Admiralty Court (a federal court)
  • "Ct. Cl." = United States Court of Claims
  • "Ct. Com. Pl." = Court of Common Pleas (a state court)
  • 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 118 U.S.[]

Case Name Page & year Opinion of the Court Concurring opinion(s) Dissenting opinion(s) Lower court Disposition of case
Emerson v. Senter & Co. 3 (1886) Harlan None None C.C.E.D. Ark. reversed
Dobson v. Dornan, Maybin & Co. 10 (1886) Blatchford Field None C.C.E.D. Pa. reversed
Johnston v. District of Columbia 19 (1886) Gray None None Sup. Ct. D.C. affirmed
U.S. Rifle & Cartridge Co. v. Whitney Arms Co. 22 (1886) Gray None None C.C.D. Conn. affirmed
Keyes v. Grant 25 (1886) Matthews None None C.C.D. Colo. reversed
South Boston Iron Co. v. United States 37 (1886) Waite None None Ct. Cl. affirmed
Oakley v. Goodnow 43 (1886) Waite None None Iowa affirmed
Benjamin's Heirs v. Dubois 46 (1886) Waite None None Sup. Ct. D.C. dismissed for want of jurisdiction
Mexican Nat'l Constr. Co. v. Reusens 49 (1886) Waite None None C.C.S.D.N.Y. additional security denied
Cambria Iron Co. v. Ashburn 54 (1886) Waite None None C.C.S.D. Ohio affirmed
Cashman v. Amador & S. Canal Co. 58 (1886) Waite None None C.C.D. Cal. affirmed
Hart v. United States 62 (1886) Blatchford None None Ct. Cl. affirmed
Cape Girardeau Cnty. v. United States 68 (1886) Harlan None None C.C.E.D. Mo. affirmed
Cadman v. Peter 73 (1886) Blatchford None None C.C.W.D. Mich. affirmed
United States v. Landram 81 (1886) Woods None None Ct. Cl. affirmed
United States v. Wilson 86 (1886) Matthews None None C.C.M.D. Tenn. affirmed
Spraigue, Soullee & Co. v. Thompson 90 (1886) Matthews None None Ga. reversed
Clay v. Freeman 97 (1886) Bradley None None C.C.N.D. Miss. reversed
Southern P. Co. v. California 109 (1886) Waite None None Cal. reversed
Ex parte Lothrop 113 (1886) Waite None None Terr. Ariz. Cnty. Ct. habeas corpus denied
United States v. Nashville, C. & S.L. Ry. Co. 120 (1886) Gray None None C.C.M.D. Tenn. reversed
Conley v. Nailor 127 (1886) Woods None None Sup. Ct. D.C. reversed
Board of Liquidation v. Hart 136 (1886) Field None None C.C.E.D. La. affirmed
Sun Mut. Ins. Co. v. United States ex rel. Hart 147 (1886) per curiam None None not indicated affirmed
Hopper v. Town of Covington 148 (1886) Gray None None C.C.D. Ind. affirmed
Paine v. Central Vt. R.R. 152 (1886) Gray None None C.C.D. Vt. affirmed
Graham v. Boston, H. & E.R.R. Co. 161 (1886) Blatchford None None C.C.D. Mass. affirmed
Gardner v. Herz 180 (1886) Blatchford None None C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed
Arrowsmith v. Harmoning 194 (1886) Waite None None Ohio affirmed
Iron Silver Mining Co. v. Elgin Mining & Smelting Co. 196 (1886) Field None Waite C.C.D. Colo. affirmed
Hunt v. Oliver 211 (1886) Woods None None C.C.E.D. Mich. reversed
Hartranft v. du Pont 223 (1886) Woods None Bradley C.C.E.D. Pa. reversed
Johnson v. Wilkins 228 (1886) Waite None None C.C.N.D. Fla. reinstatement of case denied
Wells v. Wilkins 230 (1886) Waite None None C.C.N.D. Fla. reinstatement of cases denied
Bohanan v. Nebraska 231 (1886) Waite None None Neb. dismissal denied
United States v. Hailey 233 (1886) Waite None None Sup. Ct. Terr. Idaho dismissed for want of jurisdiction
United States v. Central P.R.R. Co. 235 (1886) Woods None None Ct. Cl. affirmed
Evans v. Pike 241 (1886) Bradley None None C.C.E.D. La. affirmed
Libby v. Clark 250 (1886) Miller None None Kan. affirmed
Salt Lake City v. Hollister 256 (1886) Miller None None Sup. Ct. Terr. Utah affirmed
Plymouth Consol. G.M. Co. v. Amador & S. Canal Co. 264 (1886) Waite None None C.C.D. Cal. affirmed
Mullan v. United States 271 (1886) Waite None None C.C.D. Cal. affirmed
Carson v. Hyatt 279 (1886) Waite None None S.C. reversed
Pennsylvania R.R. Co. v. St. Louis, A. & T.H.R.R. Co. 290 (1886) Miller None Bradley C.C.D. Ind. reversed
Loring v. Palmer 321 (1886) Waite None None C.C.E.D. Mich. affirmed
Snow v. United States 346 (1886) Blatchford None None Sup. Ct. Terr. Utah dismissed for want of jurisdiction
Cannon v. United States 355 (1886) Blatchford None None Sup. Ct. Terr. Utah dismissed for want of jurisdiction
Yick Wo v. Hopkins 356 (1886) Matthews None None Cal. & C.C.D. Cal. both reversed
United States v. Kagama 375 (1886) Miller None None C.C.D. Cal. remanded to divided lower court
Francis v. Flinn 385 (1886) Field None None C.C.E.D. La. reversed
United States v. Langston 389 (1886) Harlan None None Ct. Cl. affirmed
Santa Clara Cnty. v. Southern P.R.R. Co. 394 (1886) Harlan None None C.C.D. Cal. affirmed
San Bernardino Cnty. v. Southern P.R.R. Co. 417 (1886) Harlan Field None C.C.D. Cal. affirmed
Norton v. Shelby Cnty. 425 (1886) Field None None C.C.W.D. Tenn. affirmed
Morgan's Steamship Co. v. Board of Health 455 (1886) Miller None None La. affirmed
The City of Norwich 468 (1886) Bradley None Matthews C.C.E.D.N.Y. affirmed
The Scotland 507 (1886) Bradley None Matthews C.C.E.D.N.Y. affirmed
The Great Western 520 (1886) Bradley None Matthews C.C.E.D.N.Y. affirmed
Vicksburg & M.R.R. Co. v. Putnam 545 (1886) Gray None None C.C.N.D. Ga. reversed
Wabash, S.L. & P. Ry. Co. v. Illinois 557 (1886) Miller None Bradley Ill. reversed
Little v. Giles 596 (1886) Bradley None None C.C.D. Neb. reversed
N.Y. Elevated Ry. Co. v. Fifth Nat'l Bank 608 (1886) Waite None None C.C.S.D.N.Y. dismissal denied
Ex parte Phenix Ins. Co. 610 (1886) Blatchford None None E.D. Wis. prohibition granted
Jacksonville, P. & M.R.R. Co. v. United States 626 (1886) Field None None Ct. Cl. affirmed
Pennsylvania R.R. Co. v. St. Louis, A. & T.H.R.R. Co. 630 (1886) Miller None None C.C.D. Ind. rehearing denied
Delano v. Butler 634 (1886) Matthews None None C.C.D. Mass. affirmed
Whitney v. Butler 655 (1886) Harlan None None C.C.D. Mass. reversed
Harkness v. Russell & Co. 663 (1886) Bradley None None Sup. Ct. Terr. Utah affirmed
Kansas City, L. & S.K.R.R. Co. v. Brewster 682 (1886) Miller None None C.C.D. Ark. reversed

Notes and references[]

  1. ^ Lawson, Gary; Seidman, Guy (2001). "When Did the Constitution Become Law?". Notre Dame Law Review. 77: 1–37.
  2. ^ "Supreme Court Research Guide". Georgetown Law Library. Retrieved April 7, 2021.

External links[]

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