This is a list of cases reported in volume 251 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1919 and 1920.

Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 251 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). 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 251 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 Edward Douglass White Chief Justice Louisiana Melville Fuller (Acclamation) –May 19, 1921(Died) Joseph McKenna Associate Justice California Stephen Johnson Field (Acclamation) –January 5, 1925(Retired) Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Associate Justice Massachusetts Horace Gray (Acclamation) –January 12, 1932(Retired) William R. Day Associate Justice Ohio George Shiras Jr. (Acclamation) –November 13, 1922(Retired) Willis Van Devanter Associate Justice Wyoming Edward Douglass White (as Associate Justice) (Acclamation) –June 2, 1937(Retired) Mahlon Pitney Associate Justice New Jersey John Marshall Harlan (50–26) –December 31, 1922(Resigned) James Clark McReynolds Associate Justice Tennessee Horace Harmon Lurton (44–6) –January 31, 1941(Retired) Louis Brandeis Associate Justice Massachusetts Joseph Rucker Lamar (47–22) –February 13, 1939(Retired) John Hessin Clarke Associate Justice Ohio Charles Evans Hughes (Acclamation) –September 18, 1922(Retired)

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.

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. On January 1, 1912, the effective date of the Judicial Code of 1911, the old Circuit Courts were abolished, with their remaining trial court jurisdiction transferred to the U.S. District Courts.

Bluebook citation style is used for case names, citations, and jurisdictions. "# Cir." = United States Court of Appeals e.g., "3d Cir." = United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit "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.,"M.D. Ala." = United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama "Ct. Cl." = United States Court of Claims 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 251 U.S. Case Name Page and year Opinion of the Court Concurring opinion(s) Van Dissenting opinion(s) Lower Court Disposition United States v. Southern Pacific Company1 (1919) VanDevanter none none 9th Cir. reversed Stroud v. United States 15 (1919) Day none none D. Kan. affirmed Pacific Gas and Electric Company v. City of Sacramento 22 (1919) White none none Cal. Ct. App. affirmed Postal Telegraph-Cable Company v. Warren-Godwin Lumber Company 27 (1919) White none none Miss. reversed City of Los Angeles v. Los Angeles Gas and Electric Corporation 32 (1919) McKenna none none S.D. Cal. affirmed Ervien v. United States 41 (1919) McKenna none none 8th Cir. affirmed Liverpool, Brazil and River Plate Steam Navigation Company v. Brooklyn Eastern District Terminal 48 (1919) Holmes none none 2d Cir. affirmed Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company v. Cole 54 (1919) Holmes none none Okla. affirmed Bragg v. Weaver 57 (1919) VanDevanter none none Va. affirmed St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway Company v. Williams 63 (1919) VanDevanter none none Ark. affirmed Corsicana National Bank of Corsicana v. Johnson 68 (1919) Pitney none none 5th Cir. reversed Wagner v. City of Covington 95 (1919) Pitney none none Ky. affirmed Oklahoma Railway Company v. Severns Paving Company 104 (1919) McReynolds none none Okla. affirmed Evans v. National Bank of Savannah 108 (1919) McReynolds none Pitney Ga. Ct. App. affirmed Peters v. Veasey 121 (1919) McReynolds none none La. reversed New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company v. United States 123 (1919) McReynolds none none Ct. Cl. affirmed United States v. Osage County 128 (1919) White none none 8th Cir. reversed Bone v. Marion County 134 (1919) McKenna none none 7th Cir. affirmed Hamilton v. Kentucky Distilleries and Warehouse Company 146 (1919) Brandeis none none multiple multiple Sullivan v. City of Shreveport 169 (1919) Clarke none none La. affirmed Hardin-Wyandot Lighting Company v. Village of Upper Sandusky 173 (1919) Clarke none none Ohio affirmed Godchaux Company v. Estopinal 179 (1919) McReynolds none none La. dismissed Branson v. Bush 182 (1919) Clarke none none 8th Cir. reversed City of Winchester v. Winchester Water Works Company 192 (1920) Day none none E.D. Ky. affirmed St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway Company v. United States 198 (1920) Day none McReynolds Ct. Cl. affirmed United States v. Standard Brewery, Inc. 210 (1920) Day none none multiple affirmed United States v. Poland 221 (1920) VanDevanter none none 9th Cir. reversed Producers Transportation Company v. Railroad Commission of California 228 (1920) VanDevanter none none Cal. affirmed Hayes v. Port of Seattle 233 (1920) Pitney none none W.D. Wash. affirmed Schall v. Camors 239 (1920) Pitney none none 5th Cir. affirmed Morganthaler Linotype Company v. Davis 256 (1920) McReynolds none none Mo. Ct. App. dismissed Southern Pacific Company v. Industrial Accident Commission of California 259 (1920) McReynolds none none Cal. reversed Ruppert v. Caffey 264 (1920) Brandeis none McReynolds S.D.N.Y. affirmed Duhne v. New Jersey 311 (1920) White none none original dismissed Western Union Telephone Company v. Boegli 315 (1920) White none none Ind. reversed Birge-Forbes Company v. Heye 317 (1920) Holmes none none 5th Cir. affirmed Mail Divisor Cases 326 (1920) Holmes Pitney none Ct. Cl. affirmed Maryland Casualty Company v. United States 342 (1920) Clarke none none Ct. Cl. affirmed Eastern Extension, Australasia and China Telegraph Company, Ltd. v. United States 355 (1920) Clarke none none Ct. Cl. affirmed Napa Valley Electric Company v. Railroad Commission of California 366 (1920) McKenna none none N.D. Cal. affirmed Chipman, Ltd. v. Thomas B. Jeffrey Company 373 (1920) McKenna none none S.D.N.Y. affirmed Stroud v. United States 380 (1920) Day none none D. Kan. rehearing denied Rex v. United States 382 (1920) Holmes none none Ct. Cl. affirmed Silverthorne Lumber Company v. United States 385 (1920) Holmes none none W.D.N.Y. reversed Henry v. United States 393 (1920) Holmes none none Ct. Cl. affirmed Brooks-Scanlon Company v. Railroad Commission of Louisiana 396 (1920) Holmes none none La. reversed Board of Public Utility Commissioners of the Philippines v. Ynchausti and Company 401 (1920) White none none Phil. reversed United States v. Thompson 407 (1920) White none none W.D. Pa. reversed United States v. United States Steel Corporation 417 (1920) McKenna none Day D.N.J. affirmed Schaefer v. United States 466 (1920) McKenna Brandeis Brandeis E.D. Pa. multiple Carbon Steel Company v. Lewellyn 501 (1920) McKenna none none 3d Cir. affirmed Worth Brothers Company v. Lederer 507 (1920) McKenna none none 3d Cir. affirmed Forged Steel Wheel Company v. Lewellyn 511 (1920) McKenna none none 3d Cir. affirmed Dunbar v. City of New York 516 (1920) McKenna none none N.Y. Sup. Ct. affirmed The South Coast 519 (1920) Holmes none none 9th Cir. affirmed Bates v. Dresser 524 (1920) Holmes none none 1st Cir. affirmed Fort Smith Lumber Company v. Arkansas ex rel. Arbuckle 532 (1920) Holmes none none Ark. affirmed

Notes and references

External links Case reports in volume 251 from Library of Congress Case reports in volume 251 from Court Listener Case reports in volume 251 from the Caselaw Access Project of Harvard Law School Case reports in volume 251 from Google Scholar Case reports in volume 251 from Justia Case reports in volume 251 from Open Jurist Website of the United States Supreme Court United States Courts website about the Supreme Court National Archives, Records of the Supreme Court of the United States American Bar Association, How Does the Supreme Court Work? The Supreme Court Historical Society