List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 46

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Supreme Court of the United States
Seal of the United States Supreme Court.svg
EstablishedMarch 4, 1789; 232 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
Chief Justice of the United States
CurrentlyJohn Roberts
SinceSeptember 29, 2005; 16 years ago (2005-09-29)

This is a list of the 36 cases reported in volume 46 (5 How.) of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States from December 1846 to March 1847.[2]

Nominative reports[]

In 1874, the U.S. government created the United States Reports, and retroactively numbered older privately-published case reports as part of the new series. As a result, cases appearing in volumes 1–90 of U.S. Reports have dual citation forms; one for the volume number of U.S. Reports, and one for the volume number of the reports named for the relevant reporter of decisions (these are called "nominative reports").

Benjamin Chew Howard[]

Starting with the 42nd volume of U.S. Reports, the Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States was Benjamin Chew Howard. Howard was Reporter of Decisions from 1843 to 1860, covering volumes 42 through 65 of United States Reports which correspond to volumes 1 through 24 of his Howard's Reports. As such, the dual form of citation to, for example, Mayberry v. Thompson is 46 U.S. (5 How.) 121 (1847).

Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of 46 U.S. (5 How.)[]

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).[3] 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 46 U.S. (5 How.) were decided the Court comprised these nine members:

Portrait Justice Office Home State Succeeded Date confirmed by the Senate
(Vote)
Tenure on Supreme Court
Roger B. Taney - Brady-Handy.jpg Roger B. Taney Chief Justice Maryland John Marshall March 15, 1836
(29–15)
March 28, 1836

October 12, 1864
(Died)
Justice John McLean daguerreotype by Mathew Brady 1849.jpg John McLean Associate Justice Ohio Robert Trimble March 7, 1829
(Acclamation)
January 11, 1830

April 4, 1861
(Died)
JMWayne2.jpg James Moore Wayne Associate Justice Georgia William Johnson January 9, 1835
(Acclamation)
January 14, 1835

July 5, 1867
(Died)
John Catron - Brady-Handy.jpg John Catron Associate Justice Tennessee newly-created seat March 8, 1837
(28–15)
May 1, 1837

May 30, 1865
(Died)
John McKinley.jpg John McKinley Associate Justice Alabama newly-created seat September 25, 1837
(Acclamation)
January 9, 1838

July 19, 1852
(Died)
Peter Vivian Daniel, US Supreme Court Justice, c1860.jpg Peter Vivian Daniel Associate Justice Virginia Philip P. Barbour March 2, 1841
(25–5)
January 10, 1842

May 31, 1860
(Died)
Samuel Nelson - Brady-Handy.jpg Samuel Nelson Associate Justice New York Smith Thompson February 14, 1845
(Acclamation)
February 27, 1845

November 28, 1872
(Retired)
JdgLWoodbury.jpg Levi Woodbury Associate Justice New Hampshire Joseph Story January 31, 1846
(Acclamation)
September 23, 1845

September 4, 1851
(Died)
Robert Cooper Grier - Brady-Handy.jpg Robert Cooper Grier Associate Justice Pennsylvania Henry Baldwin August 4, 1846
(Acclamation)
August 10, 1846

January 31, 1870
(Retired)

Notable Case in 46 U.S. (5 How.)[]

Jones v. Van Zandt[]

In Jones v. Van Zandt, 46 U.S. (5 How.) 215 (1847), the Supreme Court held that no written or other formal notice of fugitive slave status was required to support a criminal charge of harbouring or concealing a runaway slave who had escaped to a free state.

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 46 U.S. (5 How.)[]

Case Name Page & year Opinion of the Court Concurring opinion(s) Dissenting opinion(s) Lower court Disposition of case
Wood v. Underhill 1 (1846) Taney none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. reversed
Sewall v. Chamberlain 6 (1847) Wayne none none C.C.S.D. Ala. dismissed for want of jurisdiction
Dick & Co. v. Runnels 7 (1846) McLean none none C.C.S.D. Miss. remanded to divided lower court
United States v. Lawton 10 (1847) Catron none none Fla. Super. Ct. reversed
United States v. Boyd 29 (1846) Nelson none none C.C.S.D. Miss. reversed
Pepper v. Dunlap 51 (1846) Taney none none La. dismissed for want of jurisdiction
McAfee v. Doremus 53 (1847) McLean none none N.D. Miss. affirmed
Walker v. Taylor 64 (1846) Grier none none Ky. dismissed for want of jurisdiction
Hildeburn v. Turner 69 (1847) Taney none none C.C.S.D. Miss. remanded to divided lower court
Miller v. Herbert 72 (1847) Daniel none none C.C.D.C. reversed
Alexandria Canal Co. v. Swann 83 (1847) Taney none none C.C.D.C. affirmed
Bridges v. Armour 91 (1847) Nelson none none N.D. Miss. reversed
Hall v. Smith 96 (1847) Wayne none none C.C.D. Md. remanded to divided lower court
Barry v. Mercein 103 (1847) Taney none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. dismissed for want of jurisdiction
Mayberry v. Thompson 121 (1847) Taney none none C.C.S.D. Ala. dismissed for want of jurisdiction
Nelson v. Hill 127 (1847) Daniel none none C.C.S.D. Ala. reversed
Rowan v. Runnels 134 (1847) Taney none Daniel C.C.S.D. Miss. reversed
Truly v. Wanzer 141 (1847) Grier none none C.C.S.D. Miss. affirmed
Ford v. Douglas 143 (1847) Nelson none none C.C.E.D. La. reversed
Gear v. Parish 168 (1847) Nelson none none Sup. Ct. Terr. Wis. reversed
In re Metzger 176 (1847) McLean none none original jurisdiction habeas corpus denied
Creath's Adm'r v. Sims 192 (1847) Daniel none none C.C.S.D. Miss. affirmed
United States v. Briggs 208 (1847) Taney none none C.C.D. Mich. remanded to divided lower court
Sheppard v. Wilson 210 (1847) Taney none none Sup. Ct. Terr. Iowa dismissal denied
Miners' Bank v. United States ex rel. Grant 213 (1847) Taney none none Sup. Ct. Terr. Iowa dismissed for want of jurisdiction
Jones v. Van Zandt 215 (1847) Woodbury none none C.C.D. Ohio remanded to divided lower court
Taylor v. Benham 233 (1847) Woodbury none none N.D. Ala. affirmed
Phillips v. Preston 278 (1846) Woodbury none none C.C.E.D. La. continued
Cook v. Moffat 295 (1847) Grier Taney, McLean, Daniel, Woodbury none C.C.D. Md. affirmed
Innerarity v. Byrne 295 (1847) McLean none none not indicated continued
Commercial Bank v. Buckingham's Ex'rs 317 (1847) Grier none none Ohio dismissed for want of jurisdiction
Scott v. Jones 343 (1847) Woodbury Wayne McLean Mich. dismissed for want of jurisdiction
United States v. Bank of the U.S. 382 (1847) Catron none McLean C.C.E.D. Pa. reversed
Fox v. Ohio 410 (1847) Daniel none McLean Ohio affirmed
Waring v. Clarke 441 (1847) Wayne none Catron, Woodbury, Grier C.C.E.D. La. reversed
License Cases 504 (1847) Taney Catron, Daniel, Grier, McLean, Woodbury none Mass., N.H. & R.I. all affirmed

Notes and references[]

  1. ^ Lawson, Gary; Seidman, Guy (2001). "When Did the Constitution Become Law?". Notre Dame Law Review. 77: 1–37.
  2. ^ Anne Ashmore, DATES OF SUPREME COURT DECISIONS AND ARGUMENTS, Library, Supreme Court of the United States, 26 December 2018.
  3. ^ "Supreme Court Research Guide". Georgetown Law Library. Retrieved April 7, 2021.


See also[]

  • Certificate of division

External links[]

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