This is a list of cases reported in volume 161 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1896.

Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 161 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 161 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 Melville Fuller Chief Justice Illinois Morrison Waite (41–20) –July 4, 1910(Died) Stephen Johnson Field Associate Justice California newly created seat (Acclamation)–December 1, 1897(Retired) John Marshall Harlan Associate Justice Kentucky David Davis (Acclamation) –October 14, 1911(Died) Horace Gray Associate Justice Massachusetts Nathan Clifford (51–5) –September 15, 1902(Died) David Josiah Brewer Associate Justice Kansas Stanley Matthews (53–11) –March 28, 1910(Died) Henry Billings Brown Associate Justice Michigan Samuel Freeman Miller (Acclamation) –May 28, 1906(Retired) George Shiras Jr. Associate Justice Pennsylvania Joseph P. Bradley (Acclamation) –February 23, 1903(Retired) Edward Douglass White Associate Justice Louisiana Samuel Blatchford (Acclamation) –December 18, 1910(Continued as chief justice) Rufus W. Peckham Associate Justice New York Howell Edmunds Jackson (Acclamation) –October 24, 1909(Died)

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.

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 "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 "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 161 U.S.

Case Name Page & year Opinion of the Court Concurring opinion(s) Dissenting opinion(s) Lower Court Disposition of case Chemical Nat’l Bank v. Hartford D. Co.1 (1896) Fuller none none Ill. affirmed Belknap v. Schild10 (1896) Gray none Harlan C.C.N.D. Cal. reversed Rosen v. United States29 (1896) Harlan none White C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed In re Emblen52 (1896) Gray none none original mandamus denied Harrison v. Fortlage57 (1896) Gray none none C.C.E.D. Pa. affirmed France v. Connor65 (1896) Gray none none Wyo. affirmed Ball v. Halsell72 (1896) Gray none none C.C.N.D. Tex. affirmed Smith v. United States85 (1896) Gray none none C.C.W.D. Ark. reversed Union P. Ry. Co. v. Callaghan91 (1896) Fuller none none 8th Cir. affirmed Fishback v. Western Union Tel. Co.96 (1896) Fuller none none C.C.E.D. Ark. reversed New Orleans F.I. v. Glover101 (1896) Fuller none none C.C.E.D. La. order vacated Beebe v. United States104 (1896) Fuller none none C.C.M.D. Ala. affirmed Carey v. Houston & T.C. Ry. Co.115 (1896) Fuller none none 5th Cir. dismissed Bank of Comm. v. Tennessee ex rel. City of Memphis134 (1896) Peckham White White Tenn. reversed Shelby Cnty. v. Union & P. Bank149 (1896) Peckham none none C.C.W.D. Tenn. reversed Mercantile Bank v. Tennessee ex rel. City of Memphis161 (1896) Peckham none none Tenn. affirmed Phoenix F. & M. Ins. Co. v. Tennessee174 (1896) Peckham none none Tenn. affirmed Memphis C. Bank v. Tennessee ex rel. City of Memphis186 (1896) Peckham none none Tenn. affirmed Planters’ Ins. Co. v. Tennessee ex rel. City of Memphis193 (1896) Peckham none none Tenn. affirmed Home I. & T. Co. v. Tennessee ex rel. City of Memphis198 (1896) Peckham none none Tenn. affirmed District of Columbia v. Lyon200 (1896) Fuller none none Sup. Ct. D.C. affirmed Ainsa v. United States208 (1896) Fuller none none Ct. Priv. Land Cl. affirmed Durham v. Seymour235 (1896) Fuller none none Sup. Ct. D.C. dismissed Baltzer v. North Carolina240 (1896) White none none N.C. affirmed Baltzer & Taaks v. North Carolina246 (1896) White none none N.C. affirmed Lynch v. Murphy247 (1896) White none none Sup. Ct. D.C. affirmed Hamilton v. Brown256 (1896) Gray none none C.C.W.D. Tex. affirmed Davis v. Elmira S. Bank275 (1896) White none none N.Y. reversed Leighton v. United States291 (1896) Brewer none none Ct. Cl. affirmed Marks v. United States297 (1896) Brewer none none Ct. Cl. affirmed Durland v. United States306 (1896) Brewer none none C.C.E.D. Pa. affirmed Washington G. Co. v. District of Columbia316 (1896) White none none Sup. Ct. D.C. affirmed Schroeder v. Young334 (1896) Brown none none Sup. Ct. Terr. Utah affirmed Douglas v. Wallace346 (1896) Brown none none N.C. affirmed Cochran v. Blout350 (1896) Shiras none none Sup. Ct. D.C. affirmed Smith v. McKay355 (1896) Shiras none none C.C.D. Mass. dismissed Graves v. Saline Cnty.359 (1896) Shiras none none 7th Cir. certification Spalding v. Mason375 (1896) White none none Sup. Ct. D.C. affirmed Hansen v. Boyd397 (1896) White none none C.C.D. Minn. conditional affirmance United States v. Stanford412 (1896) Harlan none none 9th Cir. affirmed City of Evansville v. Dennett434 (1896) Harlan none none 7th Cir. certification Swearingen v. United States446 (1896) Shiras none none D. Kan. reversed Union P. Ry. Co. v. O’Brien451 (1896) Fuller none none 8th Cir. affirmed The Delaware459 (1896) Brown none none 2d Cir. affirmed United States v. Zucker475 (1896) Harlan none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. reversed Spalding v. Vilas483 (1896) Harlan none none Sup. Ct. D.C. affirmed Spalding v. Dickinson499 (1896) Harlan none none Sup. Ct. D.C. affirmed Matthews v. United States500 (1896) Peckham none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed Ornelas v. Ruiz502 (1896) Fuller none none W.D. Tex. reversed Dushane v. Beall513 (1896)Fuller none none Pa.reversed Geer v. Connecticut519 (1896) White none Field; Harlan Conn. affirmed St. Louis et al. Ry. Co. v. James545 (1896) Shiras none Harlan 8th Cir. certification Gildersleeve v. New Mexico M. Co.573 (1896) White none none Sup. Ct. Terr. N.M. affirmed Post v. United States583 (1896) Gray none none D. Minn. reversed Rouse v. Hornsby588 (1896) Fuller none none 8th Cir. dismissed Brown v. Walker591 (1896) Brown none Shiras; Field C.C.W.D. Pa. affirmed Southworth v. United States639 (1896) Brewer none none Ct. Cl. affirmed Owens v. Henry642 (1896) Fuller none none C.C.E.D. La. affirmed Pearsall v. Great N. Ry. Co.646 (1896) Brown none none C.C.D. Minn. reversed Louisville & N.R.R. Co. v. Kentucky677 (1896) Brown none none Ky. affirmed

Notes and references

See also Certificate of division

External links Case reports in volume 161 from Library of Congress Case reports in volume 161 from Court Listener Case reports in volume 161 from the Caselaw Access Project of Harvard Law School Case reports in volume 161 from Google Scholar Case reports in volume 161 from Justia Case reports in volume 161 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