| Location: | Washington, D.C. |
| Type: | Presidential nomination with Senate confirmation |
| Authority: | Constitution of the United States, Art. III, §1 |
| Terms: | life tenure, subject to impeachment and removal |
| Positions: | 9 (by statute) |
This is a list of cases reported in volume 134 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1890.
See also: List of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States.
See also: List of United States Supreme Court justices by time in office.
See also: List of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States by court composition.
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).[1] 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 134 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melville Fuller | Chief Justice | Illinois | Morrison Waite | (41–20) | – July 4, 1910 (Died) | |
| 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) | |
| Joseph P. Bradley | Associate Justice | New Jersey | newly created seat | (46–9) | – January 22, 1892 (Died) | |
| 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) | |
| Samuel Blatchford | Associate Justice | New York | Ward Hunt | (Acclamation) | – July 7, 1893 (Died) | |
| Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar | Associate Justice | Mississippi | William Burnham Woods | (32–28) | – January 23, 1893 (Died) | |
| David Josiah Brewer | Associate Justice | Kansas | Stanley Matthews | (53–11) | – March 28, 1910 (Died) | |
In Hans v. Louisiana, 134 U.S. 1 (1890), the Supreme Court held that the Eleventh Amendment prohibits a citizen of a U.S. state from suing their own state in a federal court. The Court suggested that the framers of the Constitution had not addressed the possibility of a citizen suing his own state because such a thing would simply be inconceivable to them. At the time the Constitution was written, states had always been immune from such suits, unless the state itself consented to be sued. Furthermore, the Judiciary Acts of 1789 and 1802 had granted the federal courts jurisdiction "concurrent with the courts of the several states," indicating that Congress had not contemplated the possibility that the federal courts would have any powers unknown to the state courts.
See also: United States district court.
See also: United States circuit court.
See also: United States federal courts. 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.
See also: Fuller Court.
| Case Name | Page & year | Opinion of the Court | Concurring opinion(s) | Dissenting opinion(s) | Lower Court | Disposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hans v. Louisiana | 1 (1890) | Bradley | Harlan | none | C.C.E.D. La. | affirmed |
| North Carolina v. Temple | 22 (1890) | Bradley | none | Harlan | C.C.E.D.N.C. | reversed |
| Eilenbecker v. Plymouth Cnty. | 31 (1890) | Miller | none | none | affirmed | |
| McCormick H.M. Co. v. Walthers | 41 (1890) | Fuller | none | none | C.C.D. Neb. | affirmed |
| Richmond & D.R.R. Co. v. Thouron | 45 (1890) | Fuller | none | none | C.C.E.D. Tenn. | dismissed |
| Ormsby v. Webb | 47 (1890) | Harlan | none | none | Sup. Ct. D.C. | affirmed |
| Cheney v. Libby | 68 (1890) | Harlan | none | none | C.C.D. Neb. | affirmed |
| McKey v. Village of Hyde Park | 84 (1890) | Lamar | none | none | C.C.N.D. Ill. | reversed |
| Crenshew v. United States | 99 (1890) | Lamar | none | none | Ct. Cl. | affirmed |
| Gunther v. Liverpool et al. Co. | 110 (1890) | Gray | none | none | C.C.E.D.N.Y. | affirmed |
| Kenaday v. Edwards | 117 (1890) | Harlan | none | none | affirmed | |
| Bryan v. Kales | 126 (1890) | Harlan | Field | none | reversed | |
| In re Wight | 136 (1890) | Miller | none | Fuller | affirmed | |
| McMurray v. Moran | 150 (1890) | Harlan | none | none | multiple | |
| In re Medley | 160 (1890) | Miller | none | Brewer | conviction vacated | |
| In re Savage | 176 (1890) | Miller | none | none | conviction vacated | |
| Jefferis v. East Omaha L. Co. | 178 (1890) | Blatchford | none | none | affirmed | |
| Hill v. City of Memphis | 198 (1890) | Field | none | none | affirmed | |
| Tracy v. Tuffly | 206 (1890) | Harlan | none | none | affirmed | |
| Louisiana ex rel. New York et al. Co. v. Steele | 230 (1890) | Bradley | none | none | affirmed | |
| Bell's Gap R.R. Co. v. Pennsylvania | 232 (1890) | Bradley | none | none | affirmed | |
| City of Chester v. Pennsylvania | 240 (1890) | Bradley | none | none | affirmed | |
| Deputron v. Young | 241 (1890) | Fuller | none | none | affirmed | |
| Henderson B. Co. v. McGrath | 260 (1890) | Lamar | none | none | affirmed | |
| Chicago et al. Co. v. Third Nat'l Bank | 276 (1890) | Brewer | none | none | affirmed | |
| Banigan v. Bard | 291 (1890) | Miller | none | none | affirmed | |
| Toledo et al. R.R. Co. v. Hamilton | 296 (1890) | Brewer | none | none | reversed | |
| De Witt v. Berry Bros. | 306 (1890) | Lamar | none | none | affirmed | |
| Arndt v. Griggs | 316 (1890) | Brewer | none | none | reversed | |
| Evans v. State Nat'l Bank | 330 (1890) | Fuller | none | none | dismissal denied | |
| Macon Cnty. v. Huidekoper | 332 (1890) | Field | none | none | affirmed | |
| Gormley v. Clark | 338 (1890) | Fuller | none | none | affirmed | |
| Penfield v. Chesapeake et al. R.R. Co. | 351 (1890) | Harlan | none | none | affirmed | |
| Clough v. Curtis | 361 (1890) | Harlan | none | none | affirmed | |
| In re Loney | 372 (1890) | Gray | none | none | affirmed | |
| In re Green | 377 (1890) | Gray | none | none | reversed | |
| Pohl v. Anchor B. Co. | 381 (1890) | Blatchford | none | none | reversed | |
| Howe M. Co. v. National N. Co. | 388 (1890) | Fuller | none | none | affirmed | |
| Glenn v. Fant | 398 (1890) | Fuller | none | none | affirmed | |
| G.H. Hammond & Co. v. Hastings | 401 (1890) | Brewer | none | none | reversed | |
| Schreyer v. Scott | 405 (1890) | Brewer | none | none | C.C.S.D.N.Y. | reversed |
| Chicago et al. R.R. Co. v. Minnesota | 418 (1890) | Blatchford | Miller | Bradley | reversed | |
| Minneapolis E. Ry. Co. v. Minnesota | 467 (1890) | Blatchford | none | none | reversed | |
| United States v. Jones | 483 (1890) | Lamar | none | none | affirmed | |
| In re Louisville U'writers | 488 (1890) | Gray | none | none | prohibition denied | |
| Hathaway v. First Nat'l Bank | 494 (1890) | Blatchford | none | none | affirmed | |
| Elwell v. Fosdick | 500 (1890) | Blatchford | none | none | dismissed | |
| Small v. Northern P.R.R. Co. | 514 (1890) | Fuller | none | none | dismissed | |
| Hill v. Merchants' M. Ins. Co. | 515 (1890) | Harlan | none | none | affirmed | |
| Whittemore v. Amoskeag Nat'l Bank | 527 (1890) | Fuller | none | none | reversed | |
| Brown v. Lake S.I. Co. | 530 (1890) | Brewer | none | none | affirmed | |
| Wheeler v. Cloyd | 537 (1890) | Lamar | none | none | dismissed | |
| Little v. Bowers | 547 (1890) | Lamar | none | none | dismissed | |
| Mendenhall v. Hall | 559 (1890) | Harlan | none | none | reversed | |
| Lee v. Simpson | 572 (1890) | Blatchford | none | none | affirmed | |
| Home Ins. Co. v. New York | 594 (1890) | Field | none | Miller | affirmed | |
| Blount v. Walker | 607 (1890) | Fuller | none | none | dismissed | |
| Louisville & N.R.R. Co. v. Woodson | 614 (1890) | Fuller | none | none | affirmed | |
| United States v. Lacher | 624 (1890) | Fuller | none | none | certification | |
| Rich v. Town of Mentz | 632 (1890) | Fuller | none | none | affirmed | |
| Giles v. Little | 645 (1890) | Gray | none | none | dismissed | |
| Kingsbury v. Buckner | 650 (1890) | Harlan | none | none | affirmed | |
| Leavenworth Cnty. v. Chicago et al. Ry. Co. | 688 (1890) | Blatchford | none | none | affirmed | |