This is a list of cases reported in volume 101 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1879 and 1880.Anne Ashmore, DATES OF SUPREME COURT DECISIONS AND ARGUMENTS, Library, Supreme Court of the United States, 26 December 2018.
Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of 101 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 101 U.S. 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 Morrison Waite Chief Justice Ohio Salmon P. Chase (63–0) –March 23, 1888(Died) Nathan Clifford Associate Justice Maine Benjamin Robbins Curtis (26–23) –July 25, 1881(Died) Noah Haynes Swayne Associate Justice Ohio John McLean (38–1) –January 24, 1881(Retired) Samuel Freeman Miller Associate Justice Iowa Peter Vivian Daniel (Acclamation) –October 13, 1890(Died) Stephen Johnson Field Associate Justice California newly created seat (Acclamation)–December 1, 1897(Retired) William Strong Associate Justice Pennsylvania Robert Cooper Grier (No vote recorded) –December 14, 1880(Retired) Joseph P. Bradley Associate Justice New Jersey newly created seat (46–9) –January 22, 1892(Died) Ward Hunt Associate Justice New York Samuel Nelson (Acclamation) –January 27, 1882(Retired) John Marshall Harlan Associate Justice Kentucky David Davis (Acclamation) –October 14, 1911(Died)
Notable Case in 101 U.S. Baker v. Selden Baker v. Selden, 101 U.S. 99 (1880), is a copyright case explaining the idea-expression dichotomy. The Supreme Court held that a book did not give its author the right to exclude others from practicing what was described in the book, only the right to exclude reproduction of the material in the book. Exclusive rights to a useful art described in a book was only available via patent, not copyright.
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.
Bluebook citation style is used for case names, citations, and jurisdictions. "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 101 U.S.
Case Name Page & year Opinion of the Court Concurring opinion(s) Dissenting opinion(s) Lower Court Disposition Merchants' Nat'l Bank v. United States1 (1880) Waite none none C.C.E.D. Ark. affirmed Babbitt v. Finn7 (1880) Clifford none none C.C.E.D. Mo. reversed Bowditch v. City of Boston16 (1880) Swayne none none C.C.D.Mass. affirmed Missouri v. Lewis22 (1880) Bradley none none Mo. affirmed Arthur v. Dodge34 (1880) Waite none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed The Florida37 (1880) Swayne none none Sup. Ct. D.C. affirmed First Nat'l Bank v. Hall43 (1880) Swayne none none C.C.S.D. Ill. reversed Amoskeag Mfg. Co. v. Trainer51 (1880) Field none Clifford C.C.E.D. Pa. affirmed - style="background: white"