This is a list of cases reported in volume 255 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1921.

Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 255 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 255 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 255 U.S. Case Name Page and year Opinion of the Court Concurring opinion(s) Dissenting opinion(s) Lower Court Disposition Kahn v. Anderson 1 (1921) White none none D. Kan. affirmed Givens v. Zerbst 11 (1921) White none none N.D. Ga. affirmed Berger v. United States 22 (1921) McKenna none Day; McReynolds 7th Cir. certification Alaska Fish Salting and By-Products Company v. Smith 44 (1921) Holmes none none D. Alaska affirmed Stark Brothers Nurseries and Orchards Company v. Stark 50 (1921) Holmes none none 8th Cir. affirmed Hogan v. O'Neill 52 (1921) Pitney none none D.N.J. affirmed Port of Seattle v. Oregon and Washington Railroad Company 56 (1921) Brandeis none none W.D. Wash. reversed El Banco Popular v. Wilcox 72 (1921) White none none 1st Cir. dismissed Schooner John Twohy 77 (1921) White none none 3d Cir. reversed United States v. Cohen Grocery Company 81 (1921) White Pitney none E.D. Mo. affirmed Tedrow v. A.T. Lewis and Son Dry Goods Company 98 (1921) White none none D. Colo. affirmed Kennington v. Palmer 100 (1921) White none none S.D. Miss. reversed Kinnane v. Detroit Creamery Company 102 (1921) White none none E.D. Mich. affirmed C.A. Weed and Company v. Lockwood 104 (1921) White none none W.D.N.Y. reversed G.S. Willard Company v. Palmer 106 (1921) White none none N.D. Ohio reversed Oglesby Grocery Company v. United States 108 (1921) White none none N.D. Ga. reversed Weeds, Inc. v. United States 109 (1921) White Pitney none N.D.N.Y. reversed Vandalia Railroad Company v. Schnull 113 (1921) McKenna none none Ind. reversed Postal Telegraph Cable Company v. City of Fremont 124 (1921) McKenna none none Neb. affirmed Hartford Life Insurance Company v. Blincoe 129 (1921) McKenna none none Mo. affirmed United States v. Russell 138 (1921) McKenna none none N.D. Ill. reversed Lower Vein Coal Company v. Indiana Industrial Board 144 (1921) McKenna none none D. Ind. affirmed Silver King Coalition Mining Company v. Conkling Mining Company 151 (1921) Holmes none none 8th Cir. reversed United States v. Rogers 163 (1921) Day none none 8th Cir. affirmed United States v. Highsmith 170 (1921) Day none none 8th Cir. affirmed Detroit United Railway Company v. City of Detroit 171 (1921) Day none none E.D. Mich. affirmed Smith v. Kansas City Title and Trust Company 180 (1921) Day none Holmes W.D. Mo. affirmed The Pesaro 216 (1921) VanDevanter none none S.D.N.Y. reversed The Carlo Poma 219 (1921) VanDevanter none none 2d Cir. vacated Bodkin v. Edwards 221 (1921) VanDevanter none none 9th Cir. affirmed Baender v. Barnett 224 (1921) VanDevanter none none N.D. Cal. affirmed Payne v. Central Pacific Railroad Company 228 (1921) VanDevanter none none D.C. Cir. affirmed Stoehr v. Wallace 239 (1921) VanDevanter none none S.D.N.Y. affirmed St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway Company v. J.F. Hasty and Sons252 (1921) Pitney none none E.D. Ark. affirmed United States v. Field257 (1921) Pitney none none Ct. Cl. affirmed New Orleans Land Company v. Leader Realty Company 266 (1921) McReynolds none none E.D. La. affirmed Rutledge Timber Company v. Farrell 268 (1921) McReynolds none none 9th Cir. reversed Maguire v. Reardon 271 (1921) McReynolds none none Cal. Ct. App. affirmed Ex parte Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Co. 273 (1921) Brandeis none none N.D. Ohio mandamus denied Armour and Company v. City of Dallas 280 (1921) Brandeis none none N.D. Tex. affirmed Dawson v. Kentucky Distilleries and Warehouse Company 288 (1921) Brandeis none none multiple affirmed Gouled v. United States 298 (1921) Clarke none none 2d Cir. certification Amos v. United States 313 (1921) Clarke none none E.D.S.C. reversed Union Pacific Railroad Company v. Burke 317 (1921) Clarke none none N.Y. Sup. Ct. affirmed United States v. Diamond Coal and Coke Company 323 (1921) White none none 8th Cir. reversed Williams v. United States 336 (1921) White none none D. Ind. affirmed Oregon-Washington Railroad and Navigation Company v. United States 339 (1921) McKenna none none Ct. Cl. affirmed Western Pacific Railroad Company v. United States 349 (1921) McKenna none none Ct. Cl. affirmed Supreme Tribe of Ben-Hur v. Cauble 356 (1921) Day none none D. Ind. reversed Payne v. New Mexico 367 (1921) VanDevanter none none D.C. Cir. affirmed Winton v. Amos 373 (1921) Pitney none none Ct. Cl. multiple Pierce v. United States 398 (1921) Brandeis none none 8th Cir. affirmed United States ex rel. Milwaukee Social Democratic Publishing Company v. Burleson 407 (1921) Clarke none Brandeis; Holmes D.C. Cir. affirmed Payne v. United States ex rel. Newton 438 (1921) VanDevanter none non D.C. Cir. affirmed Quong Ham Wah Company v. California Industrial Accident Commission 445 (1921) White none none Cal. dismissed Ex parte Riddle 450 (1921) Holmes none none not indicated mandamus denied Hollis v. Kutz 452 (1921) Holmes none none D.C. Cir. affirmed Lang v. New York Central Railroad Company 455 (1921) McKenna none Clarke N.Y. Sup. Ct. affirmed Friedman v. United States 468 (1921) McKenna none none Ct. Cl. affirmed United States v. Coronado Beach Company 472 (1921) Holmes none none S.D. Cal. affirmed Wyoming v. United States 489 (1921) VanDevanter none none 8th Cir. reversed Merchants' Loan and Trust Company v. Smietanka 509 (1921) Clarke none none N.D. Ill. affirmed Eldorado Coal and Mining Company v. Mager 522 (1921) Clarke none none N.D. Ill. affirmed Goodrich v. Edwards 527 (1921) Clarke none none S.D.N.Y. multiple Walsh v. Brewster 536 (1921) Clarke none none D. Conn. multiple Southern Iowa Electric Company v. City of Chariton 539 (1921) White none none S.D. Iowa reversed City of San Antonio v. San Antonio Public Service Company 547 (1921) White none none W.D. Tex. affirmed

Notes and references

External links Case reports in volume 255 from Library of Congress Case reports in volume 255 from Court Listener Case reports in volume 255 from the Caselaw Access Project of Harvard Law School Case reports in volume 255 from Google Scholar Case reports in volume 255 from Justia Case reports in volume 255 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