This is a list of cases reported in volume 242 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1916 and 1917.

Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 242 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 242 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)

Notable Case in 242 U.S. Caminetti v. United States In Caminetti v. United States, 242 U.S. 470 (1917), the Supreme Court interpreted the scope of the Mann Act. The Court decided the Mann Act applied not only to purposes of prostitution but also to other noncommercial consensual sexual liaisons, and that consensual extramarital sex falls within the definition of "immoral sex." The case was one of the first in which the Court embraced the "plain meaning rule". This is a form of legislative interpretation that focuses strongly on the literal text of a statute. In its most extreme form, the plain meaning rule does not point outside the words of the statute at any other sources to find legislative intent, if the Court decides that the rule is "plain" from its text alone.

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 242 U.S.

Case Name Page & year Opinion of the Court Concurring opinion(s) Dissenting opinion(s) Lower Court Disposition Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company, Ltd. v. Ward 1 (1916) White none none 9th Cir. dismissed Cross v. United States 4 (1916) White none none Ct. Cl. affirmed Portuguese-American Bank v. Welles 7 (1916) Holmes none none 9th Cir. reversed Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company v. Parker 13 (1916) Holmes none none Ky. affirmed Seaboard Air Line Railroad Company v. City of Raleigh 15 (1916) White none none E.D.N.C. affirmed O'Neil v. Northern Colorado Irrigation Company 20 (1916) Holmes none none Colo. affirmed Ex parte United States 27 (1916) White none none N.D. Ohio mandamus granted Lehon v. City of Atlanta 53 (1916) McKenna none none Ga. Ct. App. affirmed Atlantic City Railroad Company v. Parker 56 (1916) Holmes none none N.J. affirmed Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company v. United States 60 (1916) Holmes none Pitney M.D. Tenn. reversed United States v. Oppenheimer 85 (1916) Holmes none none S.D.N.Y. affirmed Pennsylvania Railroad Company v. W.F. Jacoby and Co. 89 (1916) Day none none 3d Cir. reversed Seton Hall College v. Village of South Orange 100 (1916) Day none none N.J. Sup. Ct. affirmed Swift and Company v. Hoover 107 (1916) Day none none Sup. Ct. D.C. dismissed Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham Railroad Company v. Stiles 111 (1916) Day none none Ala. affirmed Pennsylvania Railroad Company v. Sonman Shaft Coal Company 120 (1916) VanDevanter none none Pa. affirmed Stewart v. Ramsay 128 (1916) Pitney none none N.D. Ill. affirmed Sim v. Edenborn 131 (1916) McReynolds none none 2d Cir. reversed Alder v. Edenborn 137 (1916) McReynolds none none 2d Cir. reversed McIntyre v. Kavanaugh 138 (1916) McReynolds none none N.Y. Sup. Ct. affirmed Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company v. McLaughlin 142 (1916) McReynolds none none W. Va. Cir. Ct. reversed Great Northern Railway Company v. Capital Trust Company 144 (1916) McReynolds none none Minn. reversed New York Central Railroad Company v. Beaham 148 (1916) McReynolds none none Mo. App. Ct. reversed Hutchinson Ice Cream Co. v. Iowa 153 (1916) Brandeis none none multiple affirmed Kane v. New Jersey 160 (1916) Brandeis none none N.J. affirmed Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company v. Whitacre 169 (1916) Brandeis none none Md. affirmed Kryger v. Wilson 171 (1916) Brandeis none none N.D. affirmed United States v. Merchants' and Manufacturers Traffic Association of Sacramento 178 (1916) Brandeis none none N.D. Cal. reversed United States v. Northern Pacific Railroad Company 190 (1916) Clarke none none 8th Cir. affirmed Cissna v. Tennessee 195 (1916) White none none Tenn. continued Lovato v. New Mexico 199 (1916) White none none N.M. affirmed Goshen Manufacturing Company v. H.A. Myers Manufacturing Company 202 (1916) McKenna none none 7th Cir. reversed United States v. Pennsylvania Railroad Company 208 (1916) McKenna none none W.D. Pa. affirmed Detroit United Railway Company v. Michigan238 (1916) Pitney none Clarke Mich. reversed Vandalia Railroad Company v. Public Service Commission 255 (1916) Pitney none none Ind. affirmed Minerals Separation, Ltd. v. Hyde 261 (1916) Clarke none none 9th Cir. reversed Long Sault Development Company v. Call 272 (1916) Clarke none none N.Y. Sup. Ct. dismissed Ex parte Indiana Transportation Company 281 (1916) White none none N.D. Ill. continued Chicago, Terre Haute and Southeastern Railway Company v. Anderson 283 (1916) McKenna none none Ind. affirmed Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company v. Ohio Valley Tie Company 288 (1916) Holmes none none Ky. reversed Illinois Central Railroad Company v. Peery 292 (1916) Holmes none none Minn. reversed Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company v. Wilson 295 (1916) Holmes none none Ill. App. Ct. affirmed Pennsylvania Railroad Company v. Stineman Coal Mining Company 298 (1916) VanDevanter none none Pa. reversed Erie Railroad Company v. Welsh 303 (1916) Pitney none none Ohio affirmed Williams v. Cobb 307 (1916) Clarke none none 2d Cir. affirmed Clark Distilling Company v. Western Maryland Railway Company 311 (1917) White none none D. Md. affirmed Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company v. State Public Utilities Commission 333 (1917) McKenna none none Ill. affirmed Crane v. Johnson 339 (1917) McKenna none none S.D. Cal. affirmed McNaughton v. Johnson 344 (1917) McKenna none none S.D. Cal. affirmed Adamson v. Gilliland 350 (1917) Holmes none none 8th Cir. reversed Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway Company v. Winters 353 (1917) Holmes none none Minn. affirmed Savings Bank of Danbury v. Loewe 357 (1917) Holmes none none 2d Cir. affirmed Hill v. Reynolds 361 (1917) VanDevanter none none Okla. affirmed Gasquet v. Lapeyre 367 (1917) VanDevanter none none La. dismissed Dickson v. Luck Land Company 371 (1917) VanDevanter none none Minn. affirmed Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Company v. Clough 375 (1917) Pitney none none Ind. affirmed Harnage v. Martin 386 (1917) Pitney none none Okla. affirmed Baker v. Baker Eccles and Company 394 (1917) Pitney none none Ky. affirmed Newark Natural Gas and Fuel Company v. City of Newark 405 (1917) Pitney none none Ohio affirmed Louisville Bridge Company v. United States 409 (1917) Pitney none none W.D. Ky. affirmed Knauth, Nachod and Kuhne v. Latham and Company 426 (1917) McReynolds none none multiple affirmed Furness, Withy and Company, Ltd. v. Yang-Tsze Insurance Association, Ltd. 430 (1917) McReynolds none none 2d Cir. dismissed Williams v. City of Chicago 434 (1917) McReynolds none none N.D. Ill. affirmed Dean v. Davis 438 (1917) Brandeis none none 4th Cir. affirmed Western Transit Company v. A.C. Leslie and Company, Ltd. 448 (1917) Brandeis none none N.Y. Sup. Ct. reversed Chaloner v. Sherman 455 (1917) Brandeis none none 2d Cir. affirmed Illinois Central Railroad Company v. Williams 462 (1917) Clarke none none Miss. affirmed Berry v. Davis 468 (1917) Holmes none none S.D. Iowa reversed Caminetti v. United States 470 (1917) Day none McKenna multiple affirmed Von Baumbach v. Sargent Land Company 503 (1917) Day none none 8th Cir. reversed Thomas Cusack Company v. City of Chicago 526 (1917) Clarke none none Ill. affirmed Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company v. Mims 532 (1917) Clarke none none S.C. dismissed United States v. American-Asiatic Steamship Company 537 (1917) White none none S.D.N.Y. reversed Hall v. Geiger-Jones Company 539 (1917) McKenna none none S.D. Ohio reversed Caldwell v. Sioux Falls Stock Yards Company 559 (1917) McKenna none none D.S.D. reversed Merrick v. Halsey and Company 568 (1917) McKenna none none E.D. Mich. reversed Herbert v. Shanley Company 591 (1917) Holmes none none 2d Cir. reversed Sevilleta La Joya Grant v. Belen Land Grant 595 (1917) VanDevanter none none N.M. affirmed Second National Bank v. First National Bank 600 (1917) Day none none Ohio Super. Ct. dismissed Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company v. Public Service Commission 603 (1917) VanDevanter none none W. Va. affirmed

Notes and references