List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 60

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

This is a list of cases reported in volume 60 (19 How.) of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1856 and 1857.[1]

Nominative reports

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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

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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, Lathrop v. Judson is 60 U.S. (19 How.) 66 (1857).

Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of 60 U.S. (19 How.)

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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).[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 60 U.S. (19 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 Chief Justice Maryland John Marshall March 15, 1836
(29–15)
March 28, 1836

October 12, 1864
(Died)
John McLean Associate Justice Ohio Robert Trimble March 7, 1829
(Acclamation)
January 11, 1830

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

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

May 30, 1865
(Died)
Peter Vivian Daniel Associate Justice Virginia Philip P. Barbour March 2, 1841
(25–5)
January 10, 1842

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

November 28, 1872
(Retired)
Robert Cooper Grier Associate Justice Pennsylvania Henry Baldwin August 4, 1846
(Acclamation)
August 10, 1846

January 31, 1870
(Retired)
Benjamin Robbins Curtis Associate Justice Massachusetts

Levi Woodbury

December 20, 1851
(Acclamation)
October 10, 1851

September 30, 1857
(Resigned)
John Archibald Campbell Associate Justice Alabama John McKinley March 22, 1853
(Acclamation)
April 11, 1853

April 30, 1861
(Resigned)

Notable Case in 60 U.S. (19 How.)

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Dred and Harriet Scott (top) and their children, Eliza and Lizzie

Scott v. Sanford

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Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1857), is the most notorious and condemned decision in the history of the U.S. Supreme Court. In it, the Court held that the US Constitution was not meant to include American citizenship for black people, regardless of whether they were enslaved or free, and so the rights and privileges that the Constitution confers upon American citizens could not apply to them. Although Chief Justice Roger Taney and several of the other justices hoped that the decision would permanently settle the slavery controversy, which was increasingly dividing the American public, the decision's effect was the opposite. Taney's majority opinion suited the slaveholding states, but was intensely decried in the other states. The decision inflamed the national debate over slavery and deepened the divide that led ultimately to the Civil War. In 1865, after the Union won the Civil War, the Dred Scott ruling was voided by the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, which abolished slavery except as punishment for a crime, and the Fourteenth Amendment, which guaranteed citizenship for "all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof". The Supreme Court's decision has been continuously denounced ever since, both for its overt racism and its role in the near destruction of the United States four years later.[3][4] Bernard Schwartz said that it "stands first in any list of the worst Supreme Court decisions—Chief Justice Hughes called it the Court's greatest self-inflicted wound."[5] Junius P. Rodriguez wrote that it is "universally condemned as the U.S. Supreme Court's worst decision".[6] Historian David Thomas Konig agrees that it was "unquestionably, our court's worst decision ever."[7]

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.

Bluebook citation style is used for case names, citations, and jurisdictions.

List of cases in 60 U.S. (19 How.)

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Case Name Page and year Opinion of the Court Concurring opinion(s) Dissenting opinion(s) Lower court Disposition
Prevost v. Greneaux 1 (1857) Taney none none La. affirmed
Morgan v. Curtenius 8 (1857) Taney none none C.C.D. Ill. continued
Ex parte Secombe 9 (1857) Taney none none Sup. Ct. Terr. Minn. mandamus denied
Shaffer v. Scudday 16 (1857) Taney none none La. dismissed
Thomas v. Osborn 22 (1856) Curtis none Taney C.C.D. Md. remand to dismiss
Ure v. Coffman 56 (1857) Wayne none none C.C.E.D. La. affirmed
Stevens v. Gladding 64 (1857) McLean none none C.C.D.R.I. affirmed
Lathrop v. Judson 66 (1857) McLean none none C.C.E.D. La. affirmed
Moore v. Greene 69 (1856) McLean none none C.C.D.R.I. affirmed
Betts v. Lewis 72 (1857) Curtis none none N.D. Ala. remand for amendment
United States v. Le Baron 73 (1856) Curtis none none C.C.S.D. Ala. reversed
Willot v. Sandford 79 (1856) Catron none none C.C.D. Mo. reversed
Vandewater v. Mills 82 (1857) Grier none none C.C.D. Cal. affirmed
The Brig Neurea 92 (1856) Grier none none N.D. Cal. reversed
Seymour v. McCormick 96 (1857) Nelson none none C.C.N.D.N.Y. affirmed
The Steamer St. Charles 108 (1857) Nelson none none C.C.E.D. La. reversed
Coiron v. Millaudon 113 (1857) Nelson none none C.C.E.D. La. affirmed
Long v. O'Fallon 116 (1856) Campbell none none C.C.D. Mo. affirmed
Baker v. Nachtrieb 126 (1856) Campbell none none C.C.W.D. Pa. reversed
Meegan v. Boyle 130 (1857) McLean none none C.C.D. Mo. affirmed
Post v. Jones 150 (1857) Grier none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. reversed
E.I. DuPont de Nemours Company v. Vance 162 (1857) Curtis none Campbell C.C.E.D. La. reversed
The Steamer Virginia 182 (1857) Taney none none C.C.D. Md. dismissed
Brown v. Duchesne 183 (1857) Taney none none C.C.D. Mass. affirmed
Mordecai v. Lindsay 199 (1857) Wayne none none C.C.D.S.C. reversed
Cousin v. Labatut 202 (1857) Catron none none La. reversed
Hartshorn v. Day 211 (1857) Nelson none none C.C.D.R.I. reversed
Slater v. Emerson 224 (1857) McLean none none C.C.D. Mass. reversed
Schuchardt v. Babbidge 239 (1857) Nelson none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed
New York and Virginia Steamship Company v. Calderwood 241 (1857) Campbell none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed
Williams v. Hill McLane and Company 246 (1857) Campbell none none M.D. Ala. affirmed
Bell v. Hearne 252 (1857) Campbell none none La. reversed
Richardson v. City of Boston 263 (1857) Grier none none C.C.D.R.I. reversed
Hipp v. Babin 271 (1857) Campbell none none C.C.E.D. La. affirmed
Wolfe v. Lewis 280 (1857) McLean none none N.D. Ala. reversed
Beebe v. Russell 283 (1857) Wayne none none C.C.D. Ark. dismissed
Farrelly v. Woodfolk 288 (1857) Wayne none none C.C.E.D. Ark. dismissed
Babcock v. Wyman 289 (1857) McLean none Catron, Campbell C.C.D. Mass. affirmed
Byers v. Surget 303 (1857) Daniel none none C.C.E.D. Ark. affirmed
Garrison v. Memphis Insurance Company 312 (1857) Campbell none none C.C.D. Mo. affirmed
Commercial Mutual Marine Insurance Company v. Union Mutual Insurance Company of New York 318 (1857) Curtis none none C.C.D. Mass. affirmed
Field v. Seabury I 323 (1857) Wayne none none C.C.D. Cal. reversed
Field v. Seabury II 333 (1857) Wayne none none C.C.D. Cal. reversed
Bryan v. Forsyth 334 (1857) Catron none McLean C.C.N.D. Ill. reversed
Ballance v. Papin 342 (1857) Catron none none C.C.N.D. Ill. reversed
United States v. Peralta 343 (1857) Grier none none S.D. Cal. affirmed
McCullough v. Roots 349 (1857) Campbell none none C.C.D. Md. affirmed
Walton v. Cotton 355 (1857) McLean none Curtis Tenn. reversed
Pratt v. Reed 359 (1857) Nelson none none C.C.N.D.N.Y. reversed
The Steam Boat Sultana 362 (1857) Nelson none none C.C.N.D.N.Y. affirmed
United States v. Sutherland 363 (1857) Grier none none S.D. Cal. affirmed
Fellows v. Blacksmith 366 (1857) Nelson none none N.Y. Sup. Ct. affirmed
Roberts v. Cooper 373 (1857) Wayne none none C.C.D. Mich. bond increase denied
McRea v. Bank of Alabama 376 (1857) Curtis none none C.C.E.D. Ark. affirmed
Michigan Central Railroad Company v. Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Company 378 (1857) Grier none none Mich. dismissed
Ballard v. Thomas 382 (1857) Nelson none none C.C.D. Md. affirmed
Platt v. Jerome 384 (1856) Nelson none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. appeal denied
United States v. City Bank of Columbus 385 (1857) Daniel none none C.C.S.D. Ohio certification
Burke v. Gaines 388 (1857) Taney none none Ark. dismissed
Bulkley v. Honold 390 (1857) Curtis none none C.C.E.D. La. affirmed
Scott v. Sandford 393 (1857) Taney Wayne, Catron, Daniel, Grier, Campbell Curtis, McLean C.C.D. Mo. reversed

Notes and references

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  1. ^ Anne Ashmore, DATES OF SUPREME COURT DECISIONS AND ARGUMENTS, Library, Supreme Court of the United States, 26 December 2018.
  2. ^ "Supreme Court Research Guide". Georgetown Law Library. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  3. ^ Parker, Garrett (2019). "Ranking the 10 Worst Supreme Court Decisions of All-Time". Money Inc. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  4. ^ Staff (October 14, 2015). "13 Worst Supreme Court Decisions of All Time". FindLaw. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  5. ^ Bernard Schwartz (1997). A Book of Legal Lists: The Best and Worst in American Law. Oxford University Press. p. 70.
  6. ^ Junius P. Rodriguez (2007). Slavery in the United States: A Social, Political, and Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 1. ISBN 9781851095445.
  7. ^ David Konig; et al. (2010). The Dred Scott Case: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on Race and Law. Ohio University Press. p. 213. ISBN 9780821419120.

See also

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certificate of division

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