List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 259 explained

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 259 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1922.

Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 259 U.S.

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 259 were decided the Court comprised the following nine members:

PortraitJusticeOfficeHome StateSucceededDate confirmed by the Senate
(Vote)
Tenure on Supreme Court
William Howard TaftChief JusticeConnecticutEdward Douglass White
(Acclamation)


February 3, 1930
(Retired)
Joseph McKennaAssociate JusticeCaliforniaStephen Johnson Field
(Acclamation)


January 5, 1925
(Retired)
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.Associate JusticeMassachusettsHorace Gray
(Acclamation)


January 12, 1932
(Retired)
William R. DayAssociate JusticeOhioGeorge Shiras Jr.
(Acclamation)


November 13, 1922
(Retired)
Willis Van DevanterAssociate JusticeWyomingEdward Douglass White (as Associate Justice)
(Acclamation)


June 2, 1937
(Retired)
Mahlon PitneyAssociate JusticeNew JerseyJohn Marshall Harlan
(50–26)


December 31, 1922
(Resigned)
James Clark McReynoldsAssociate JusticeTennesseeHorace Harmon Lurton
(44–6)


January 31, 1941
(Retired)
Louis BrandeisAssociate JusticeMassachusettsJoseph Rucker Lamar
(47–22)


February 13, 1939
(Retired)
John Hessin ClarkeAssociate JusticeOhioCharles Evans Hughes
(Acclamation)


September 18, 1922
(Retired)

Notable cases in 259 U.S.

Child Labor Tax Case

In Bailey v. Drexel Furniture Co., 259 U.S. 20 (1922), the Supreme Court ruled that the 1919 Child Labor Tax Law was unconstitutional as an improper attempt by Congress to penalize employers using child labor. The Court concluded that the "tax" imposed by the statute was not a tax, but a penalty in disguise.

Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore, Inc. v. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs

Federal Baseball Club v. National League, 259 U.S. 200 (1922), is a antitrust decision in which the Supreme Court ruled the Sherman Antitrust Act did not apply to Major League Baseball because baseball was not deemed to be interstate commerce. This decision is the main reason why MLB has not faced any competitor leagues since 1922 and MLB, to date, remains the only professional sports league in the United States with such an antitrust exemption.[2] [3]

Ng Fung Ho v. White

In Ng Fung Ho v. White, 259 U.S. 276 (1922), the Supreme Court held that habeas corpus petitioners are entitled to a de novo judicial hearing to adjudicate claims that they are citizens of the United States.

Citation style

See also: United States district court.

See also: United States court of appeals.

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.

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.

List of cases in volume 259 U.S.

Case NamePage and yearOpinion of the CourtConcurring opinion(s)Dissenting opinion(s)Lower CourtDisposition
British Columbia Mills Tug and Barge Company v. Myrolie 1 (1922) Taft none none affirmed
Atherton Mills v. Johnston 13 (1922) Taft none none reversed
Bailey, Collector of Internal Revenue v. George 16 (1922) Taft none none reversed
Child Labor Tax Case 20 (1922) Taft none none affirmed
Hill v. Wallace 44 (1922) Taft Brandeis none reversed
American Smelting and Refining Company v. United States 75 (1922) Holmes none none affirmed
Grogan v. Hiram Walker and Sons, Ltd. 80 (1922) Holmes none McKenna multiple
South Covington and Cincinnati Street Railway Company v. City of Newport 97 (1922) McReynolds none none reversed
Newton v. New York and Queens Gas Company 101 (1922) McReynolds none none reversed
Union Tool Company v. Wilson 107 (1922) Brandeis none none affirmed
Heald v. District of Columbia 114 (1922) Brandeis none none affirmed
Pierce Oil Corporation v. Phoenix Refining Company 125 (1922) Clarke none none affirmed
Ewert v. Bluejacket 129 (1922) Clarke none none multiple
Kendall v. Ewert 139 (1922) Clarke none none reversed
Rainier Brewing Company v. Great Northern Pacific Steamship Company 150 (1922) Clarke none none affirmed
Continental Insurance Company v. United States 156 (1922) Taft none none affirmed
California Industrial Accident Commission v. Davis 182 (1922) McKenna none none reversed
Morrisdale Coal Company v. United States 188 (1922) Holmes none none affirmed
Pine Hill Coal Company, Inc. v. United States 191 (1922) Holmes none none affirmed
Santa Fe Pacific Railroad Company v. Fall 197 (1922) Holmes none none reversed
Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore, Inc. v. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs 200 (1922) Holmes none none affirmed
Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York v. Liebing 209 (1922) Holmes none none affirmed
United States v. Southern Pacific Company 214 (1922) Day none McKenna reversed
Miles v. Safe Deposit and Trust Company 247 (1922) Pitney none none affirmed
Carlisle Packing Company v. Sandanger 255 (1922) McReynolds none none affirmed
Olin v. Kitzmiller 260 (1922) McReynolds none none affirmed
State Industrial Commission of New York v. Nordenholt Corporation 263 (1922) McReynolds none none reversed
Ng Fung Ho v. White 276 (1922) Brandeis none none multiple
Great Northern Railroad Company v. Merchants Elevator Company 285 (1922) Brandeis none none affirmed
Fidelity and Deposit Company of Maryland v. United States 296 (1922) Brandeis none none remanded
Fidelity Title and Trust Company v. United States 304 (1922) Brandeis none none affirmed
Collins v. Loisel 309 (1922) Brandeis none none affirmed
City of Houston v. Southwestern Bell Telephone Company 318 (1922) Clarke none none affirmed
United States ex rel. French v. Weeks, Secretary of War 326 (1922) Clarke none none affirmed
United States ex rel. Creary v. Weeks, Secretary of War 336 (1922) Clarke none none affirmed
United Mine Workers of America v. Coronado Coal Company 344 (1922) Taft none none reversed
Ex parte Harley-Davidson Motor Company 414 (1922) Day none none mandamus granted
Wyoming v. Colorado 419 (1922) VanDevanter none none riparian rights set
Weiland v. Pioneer Irrigation Company 498 (1922) Clarke none none affirmed
Ward and Gow v. Krinsky 503 (1922) Pitney none McReynolds affirmed
Prudential Insurance Company of America v. Cheek 530 (1922)\ Pitney none none affirmed
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company v. Perry 548 (1922) Pitney none none affirmed
Lipke v. Lederer 557 (1922) McReynolds none Brandeis reversed
Georgia v. South Carolina 572 (1922) per curiam none none boundary set

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Supreme Court Research Guide . 7 April 2021 . Georgetown Law Library.
  2. Web site: Ending Baseball's Antitrust Exemption: What Would It Mean? . Belth . Alex . November 26, 2001 . Baseball Prospectus . November 10, 2021 . Baseball is the only major sport that has an exemption from antitrust law..
  3. Web site: Happy birthday to baseball's antitrust exemption . Calcaterra . Craig . May 29, 2019 . NBC Sports . November 10, 2021 . What is still in place, firmly, is Major League Baseball’s ability to work to thwart competitors, if any ever arise, and its ability to carve out protected geographic territories for its clubs and anti-competitive contract rights for its clubs..