List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 51

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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 37 cases reported in volume 51 (10 How.) of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States from December 1850 to May 1851.[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, Butler v. Pennsylvania is 51 U.S. (10 How.) 402 (1851).

Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of 51 U.S. (10 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 51 U.S. (10 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 51 U.S. (10 How.)[]

Strader v. Graham[]

In Strader v. Graham 51 U.S. (10 How.) 82 (1851), the Supreme Court held that the status of three slaves who went by steamboat from the slave state of Kentucky to the free states of Indiana and Ohio depended on Kentucky law rather than on Indiana or Ohio law. The slaves later escaped to Canada. Kentucky law made steamboat operators liable for the value of any slaves escaping by the boat. Writing for the Court, Chief Justice Roger Taney accepted the conclusions of the Supreme Court of Kentucky that refused to rule on the status of the slaves unless they were parties to the lawsuit, and that Kentucky need not apply Indiana or Ohio law under which the three slaves would be considered freed.

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 51 U.S. (10 How.)[]

Case Name Page and year Opinion of the Court Concurring opinion(s) Dissenting opinion(s) Lower court Disposition of case
Missouri v. Iowa 1 (1851) per curiam none none original jurisdiction state border decreed
Webster v. Cooper 54 (1850) Taney none none C.C.D. Me. remanded to divided lower court
Shelby v. Bacon 56 (1850) McLean none none C.C.E.D. Pa. remanded to divided lower court
McNulty v. Batty 72 (1851) Nelson none none Sup. Ct. Terr. Wis. writ of error abated
Preston v. Bracken 81 (1851) Nelson none none Sup. Ct. Terr. Wis. writ of error abated
Strader v. Graham 82 (1851) Taney McLean, Catron none Ky. dismissed for want of jurisdiction
Wilson v. Sanford 99 (1851) Taney none none C.C.D. La. dismissed for want of jurisdiction
Downs v. Kissam 102 (1850) McLean none none C.C.S.D. Miss. reversed
Hoyt v. United States 109 (1850) Nelson none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed
Ex parte Rhodes 144 (1851) Taney none none D. Tex. dismissal denied
Oldfield v. Marriott 146 (1851) Wayne none none C.C.D. Md. affirmed
Hallett v. Collins 174 (1850) Grier none none C.C.S.D. Ala. affirmed
Sears v. Eastburn 187 (1850) Taney none none C.C.S.D. Ala. reversed
Woodruff v. Trapnall 190 (1851) McLean none Grier Ark. reversed
Paup v. Drew 218 (1851) McLean Daniel, Nelson none Ark. affirmed
Trigg v. Drew 224 (1851) McLean none none Ark. affirmed
Greely v. Thompson 225 (1851) Woodbury none none C.C.D. Mass. affirmed
Maxwell v. Griswold 242 (1851) Woodbury none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed
Gilmer v. Poindexter 257 (1851) Daniel none none C.C.D. La. reversed
Barnard v. Adams 270 (1851) Grier none Daniel C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed
Henderson v. Tennessee 311 (1851) Taney none Woodbury Tenn. dismissed for want of jurisdiction
Stimpson v. Baltimore & S.R.R. Co. 329 (1850) Daniel none none C.C.D. Md. affirmed
Landes v. Brant 348 (1851) Catron none none C.C.D. Mo. affirmed
Philadelphia & W.R.R. Co. v. Maryland 376 (1851) Taney none none Md. affirmed
Baltimore & S.R.R. Co. v. Nesbit 395 (1851) Daniel none none Md. Cnty. Ct. affirmed
Butler v. Pennsylvania 402 (1851) Daniel none McLean Pa. affirmed
Washington, A. & G.S.P. Co. v. Sickles 419 (1851) Grier none none C.C.D.C. reversed
United States v. Brooks 442 (1851) Wayne none none C.C.D. La. affirmed
Louisville Mfg. Co. v. Welch 461 (1851) Nelson none none C.C.D. La. reversed
Gayler v. Wilder I 477 (1851) Taney none McLean C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed
Gayler v. Wilder II 509 (1851) Taney none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. rehearing denied
Town of E. Hartford v. Hartford Bridge Co. 511 (1851) Woodbury none none Conn. affirmed
Villalobos v. United States 541 (1851) Catron none none Fla. Super. Ct. affirmed
St. John v. Paine 557 (1851) Nelson none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed
Newton v. Stebbins 586 (1851) Nelson none Daniel C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed
United States v. d'Auterive 609 (1851) Daniel none none D. La. reversed
Robinson v. Minor 627 (1851) McLean none none C.C.S.D. Miss. 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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