Defendants: Abraham Ruef and Eugene E. Schmitz Crimes Charged: Bribery and extortion Chief Defense Lawyer: Henry Ach Chief Prosecutors: Francis J. Heney, Hiram Johnson, and William Langdon Judges: Frank Dunne, Maurice T. Dooling, and William P. Lawlor Place: San Francisco, California Dates of Trials: 1906-08 Verdicts: Ruef: Mistrial, mistrial, guilty; Schmitz: Guilty (later reversed on appeal) SIG…
William Adair United States That Adair's conviction under the Erdman Act, which made it a crime to fire an employee for belonging to a labor union, should be reversed. Benjamin D. Warfield, Henry L. Stone Charles Bonaparte, William R. Harr David Josiah Brewer, William Rufus Day, Melville Weston Fuller, John Marshall Harlan I (writing for the Court), Rufus Wheeler Peckham, Edward Douglass White Oli…
Defendant: Albert T. Patrick Crime Charged: Murder Chief Defense Lawyer: Albert T. Patrick Chief Prosecutor: William Travers Jerome Judge: John William Goff Place: New York, New York Dates of Trial: January 22-March 26, 1902 Verdict: Guilty Sentence: Death by electrocution, later commuted to life imprisonment, and ultimately pardoned by the governor of New York SIGNIFICANCE: The Albert Patrick tri…
E. Allgeyer & Co. State of Louisiana That states do not have the right to pass legislation that deprives citizens of their Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process and equal protection. Branch K. Miller M. J. Cunningham David Josiah Brewer, Henry Billings Brown, William Rufus Day, Melville Weston Fuller, Horace Gray, John Marshall Harlan I, Rufus Wheeler Peckham (writing for the Court), George S…
Defendant: Anne Maddison Bradley Crime Charged: Murder Chief Defense Lawyers: Orlando W. Powers, George P. Hoover, Robert W. Wells Chief Prosecutors: Daniel W. Baker, Charles H. Turner Judge: Wendell Philips Stafford Place: Washington, D.C. Date of Trial: November 13-December 3, 1907 Verdict: Not guilty SIGNIFICANCE: Was Anne Bradley insane when she shot former U.S. senator Arthur Brown, or did sh…
Alonzo Bailey State of Alabama Alabama's peonage law was unconstitutional because the Thirteenth Amendment provided protection against involuntary servitude. To compel servitude in liquidation of a debt restricted personal rights; involuntary servitude applied in situations other than slavery. Edward S. Watts, Fred S. Ball, Daniel W. Troy Alexander M. Garber, Thomas W. Martin William Rufus Day, Jo…
William Warley William H. Buchanan Defendant illegally refused to pay full contracted price for a home lot. He claimed a city ordinance prohibiting blacks from living in white neighborhoods deprived him of property's full value. Moorfield Storey, Clayton B. Blakey Pendleton Beckley, Stuart Chevalier Louis D. Brandeis, John Hessin Clarke, William R. Day (writing for the Court), Oliver Wendell Holme…
Franklin O. Bunting State of Oregon A 1910 Oregon labor law, limiting the number of hours an employee may work in a day and invoking an overtime wage of one-and-half times the regular wage, was unconstitutional. W. Lair Thompson, C. W. Fulton Felix Frankfurter, George M. Brown, J. O. Bailey John Hessin Clarke, William Rufus Day, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Joseph McKenna (writing for the Court), Mahlon…
Defendant: William Van Schaick Crime Charged: Criminal negligence and misconduct Chief Defense Lawyers: Terence J. McManus and William M.K. Olcott Chief Prosecutors: Ernest E. Baldwin and Henry I. Burnett Judge: Edward B. Thomas Place: New York, New York Dates of Trial: January 10-27, 1906 Verdict: Guilty Sentence: 10 years in prison pardoned after serving 4 years SIGNIFICANCE: Captain Van William…
Charles F. Champion John C. Ames That a federal statute prohibiting the carrying of lottery tickets across state lines was unconstitutional. Moritz Rosenthal Beck, Assistant Attorney General Henry Billings Brown, John Marshall Harlan I (writing for the Court), Oliver Wendell Holmes, Joseph McKenna, Edward Douglass White David Josiah Brewer, Melville Weston Fuller, Rufus Wheeler Peckham, George Shi…
Defendant: Charles Becker Crime Charged: Murder Chief Defense Lawyers: First trial: John F. Mcintyre, Lloyd B. Stryker, and George W. Whiteside; Second trial: W. Bourke Cockran, John Johnstone, and Martin Manton Chief Prosecutors: First trial: Frank Moss and Charles S. Whitman; Second trial: Charles S. Whitman Judges: First trial: John W. Goff; Second trial: Samuel Seabury Place: New York, New Yor…
Defendant: Charles Euston Kincaid Crime Charged: Murder Chief Defense Lawyers: Charles H. Grosvenor, C. Maurice Smith, Jeremiah M. Wilson. Daniel W. Voorhees assisted with pretrial matters Chief Prosecutors: Charles C. Cole, Howard C. Clagett Judge: Andrew C. Bradley. Judges Edward F. Bingham, Alexander B. Hagner, and Martin V. Montgomery presided over various pretrial hearings Place: Washington, …
Defendant: Chester Ellsworth Gillette Crime Charged: Murder Chief Defense Lawyers: Albert M. Mills and Charles D. Thomas Chief Prosecutor: George W. Ward Judge: Irving R. Devendorf Place: Herkimer, New York Dates of Trial: November 12-December 4, 1906 Verdict: Guilty Sentence: Death by electrocution SIGNIFICANCE: The sordid murder of a secretary by her social-climbing boss received its share of pr…
The Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway Company State of Minnesota ex rel. the Railroad and Warehouse Commission of the State of Minnesota The state of Minnesota wrongly granted power to the Warehouse and Railroad Commission to limit charges on behalf of freight carriers in the state. John W. Cary, W. C. Goudy, J. H. Howe, W. H. Norris Moses E. Clapp, H. W. Childs Samuel Blatchford (writing f…
United States in four cases, Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Robinson in one case. Stanley, Michael Ryan, Nichols, Singleton, Memphis & Charleston RR That their civil rights had been violated under the Civil Rights Act of 1 March 1875 when various individuals and companies had denied them access to accommodations and privileges of an inn, hotel, theater, and railroad on the grounds of race. Samuel F. Phil…
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was passed by Congress in the post-Civil War era in response to the refusal of many whites to afford newly freed slaves equal treatment with whites under federal law. The act mandated that owners of public facilities, such as inns, restaurants, railroads, and other carriers, not discriminate against blacks who sought access to, or service from, them on the basis of the…
T. B. Coppage State of Kansas Kansas statute prohibiting "yellow dog contracts" did not violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. R. R. Vermilon, W. F. Evans John S. Dawson, Attorney General of Kansas; J. I. Sheppard Joseph Rucker Lamar, Joseph McKenna, James Clark McReynolds, Mahlon Pitney (writing for the Court), Willis Van Devanter, Edward Douglass White William Rufus Day, Oli…
W.H. Coyle Thomas P. Smith, Secretary of State of Oklahoma, et al. The state of Oklahoma was denied equal status among the states by being required to locate its capital in the town of Guthrie under the Congressional Enabling Act admitting the territory to the Union. Frank Dale, G. G. Hepner, John Burford Charles West, B. C. Barwell, Joseph W. Bailey William Rufus Day, John Marshall Harlan I, Char…
Defendant: Dr. Bennett Clarke Hyde Crime Charged: Murder Chief Defense Lawyers: R.R. Brewster, M. Cleary, and Frank Walsh Chief Prosecutors: M. Atkinson, Virgil Conkling, Elliott W. Major, and James A. Reed Judge: Ralph S. Latshaw Place: Kansas City, Missouri Dates of Trial: April 16-May 16, 1910 Verdict: None. There were three attempts at retrial after a conviction in the first trial was overturn…
Defendants: Mary Amanda Dixon Jones, Charles Dixon Jones Crimes Charged: Manslaughter, medical malpractice Chief Defense Lawyer: Richard S. Newcombe Chief Prosecutor: James A. Ridgway Judge: Willard Bartlett Place: Brooklyn, New York Date of Trial: February 17, 1890-February 23, 1890 Verdict: Mary Amanda Dixon Jones: not guilty; Charles Dixon Jones: directed acquittal Libel case Jones v. Brooklyn …
Crow Dog of the Sioux Indian Nation United States That the U.S. court system does not have jurisdiction over crimes committed within the boundaries of an Indian reservation by one tribal member against another. A. J. Plowman Samuel F. Phillips, U.S. Solicitor General Samuel Blatchford, Joseph P. Bradley, Stephen Johnson Field, Horace Gray, John Marshall Harlan I, Stanley Matthews (writing for the …
Defendant: Floyd Allen Crime Charged: Murder Chief Defense Lawyer: J.C. Buxton Chief Prosecutors: J.C. Wysor and W.S. Poage Judge: Walter Staples Place: Wytheville, Virginia Dates of Trial: April 30-May 18, 1912 Verdict: Guilty Sentence: Death by electrocution SIGNIFICANCE: The Floyd Allen affair represents one of the rare incidents in American history when a criminal defendant attempted to avoid …
Samuel Gompers, et al. Buck's Stove & Range Company That even though they violated the terms of an injunction, the actions of Gompers and others in the American Federation of Labor were protected under the First Amendment. Alton B. Parker, Jackson H. Ralston J. J. Darlington, Daniel Davenport William Rufus Day, John Marshall Harlan I, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Charles Evans Hughes, Joseph Rucker Lama…
Samuel Gompers United States That the alleged contempt took place more than three years before the proceedings began and therefore beyond the statute of limitations. Alton B. Parker J. J. Darlington William Rufus Day, Oliver Wendell Holmes (writing for the Court), Charles Evans Hughes, Joseph Rucker Lamar, Horace Harmon Lurton, Joseph McKenna, Edward Douglass White Mahlon Pitney, Willis Van Devant…
Appellant: Gregorio Cortez Crime Charged: Murder Chief Defense Lawyers: R.B. Abernathy, with Samuel Belden Jr. (1902) and J.R. Wooten (1904) Chief Prosecutors: J.V. Vandenburg, Robert A. John (1902); Howard Martin, S.L. Green, S.H. Hopkins (1904) Judges: W.L. Davidson, John N. Henderson, M.M. Brooks Place: Austin, Texas Dates of Decisions: January 15, 1902; June 24, 1902; June 15, 1904 Verdicts: I…
Frank Guinn, J. J. Beal United States That the federal government had been wrong to prosecute these two Oklahoma election officials for enforcing an Oklahoma voting regulation that became known as the "Grandfather clause." The government believed that the "Grandfather clause" deprived African Americans of their right to vote. James C. McReynolds, U.S. Attorney General; John W. Davis, U.S. Solicito…
Defendant: Hans Schmidt Crime Charged: Murder Chief Defense Lawyers: W. M. K. Olcott, Alphonse G. Koelble, Terence J. McManus Chief Prosecutors: James A. Delehanty, Deacon Murphy Judge: First trial: Warren W. Foster; Second trial: Vernon M. Davis Place: New York, New York Dates of Trials: First trial: December 7-30, 1913; Second trial: January 19-February 5, 1914 Verdict: First trial: jury deadloc…
Defendant: Harry Kendall Thaw Crime Charged: Murder Chief Defense Lawyers: First trial: Delphin M. Delmas, John B. Gleason, Clifford Hartridge, Hugh McPike, and George Peabody; Second trial: Martin W. Littleton, Daniel O'Reilly, and Russell Peabody Chief Prosecutor: William Travers Jerome Judge: First trial: James Fitzgerald; Second trial: Victor J. Dowling Place: New York, New York Dates o…
Defendants: George Engel, Samuel Fielden, Adolph Fischer, Louis Lingg, Oscar Neebe, Albert Parsons, Michael Schwab, and August Spies Crime Charged: Murder Chief Defense Lawyers: William P. Black, William A. Foster, Moses Salomon, and Sigismund Zeisler Chief Prosecutor: Julius S. Grinnell Judge: Joseph E. Gary Place: Chicago, Illinois Dates of Trial: June 21-August 20, 1886 Verdict: Guilty Sentence…
Holden Hardy That a Utah state law limiting mine and smelter workers to an eight-hour day was unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment, because it deprived both employers and their workers of their right to make contracts and so denies them the equal protection of the law. Jeremiah M. Wilson Charles J. Pearce Henry Billings Brown (writing for the Court), Melville Weston Fuller, Horace Gray,…
Defendant: Eugene V. Debs Crimes Charged: Contempt of court and conspiracy Chief Defense Lawyers: Clarence Darrow, S. Gregory, and Lyman Trumbull Chief Prosecutors: John C. Black, T. M. Milchrist, and Edwin Walker Judges: Peter Grosscup and William A. Woods Place: Chicago, Illinois Dates of Trial: January 26-February 12, 1895 Verdict: Guilty of contempt, no verdict on conspiracy Sentence: 6 Months…
Thomas Cunningham, Sheriff of the County of San Joaquin, California David Neagle That in killing Judge David S. Terry, Neagle was merely acting in his capacity as U.S. Marshall, charged with protecting the life of Supreme Court Justice Stephen J. Field, and that Neagle should therefore not be charged with murder. California Attorney General G. A. Johnson, Z. Montgomery Joseph H. Choate; William He…
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Henning Jacobson That a state statute authorizing compulsory vaccination and delegating to a municipality the authority to determine when compulsory vaccination was necessary was constitutional. George Fred Williams and James A. Halloran Frederick H. Nash and Herbert Parker Henry Billings Brown, William Rufus Day, Melville Weston Fuller, John Marshall Harlan II (writi…
Defendant: Joe Hill Crime Charged: Murder Chief Defense Lawyers: Soren X. Christensen, Orrin N. Hilton, E.D. McDougall, and F.B. Scott Chief Prosecutor: E.O. Leatherwood Judge: Morris L. Ritchie Place: Salt Lake City, Utah Dates of Trial: June 17-28, 1914 Verdict: Guilty Sentence: Execution by firing squad SIGNIFICANCE: The trial of Joe Hill launched the legend of Joe Hill, a lyrical spokesman for…
Gus Leisy & Co., et al. A. J. Hardin That the laws under which property was seized from the appellants were unconstitutional, as they assumed powers reserved only for Congress. James C. Davis H. Scott Howell, William B. Collins, John Y. Stone Samuel Blatchford, Joseph P. Bradley, David Davis, Stephen Johnson Field, Melville Weston Fuller (writing for the Court), Lucius Quintus C. Lamar David Josia…
Defendant: Leo Max Frank Crime Charged: Murder Chief Defense Lawyers: Reuben Arnold, Herbert Haas, Stiles Hopkins, and Luther Z. Rosser Chief Prosecutors: Hugh Dorsey, Frank Arthur Hooper, and Edward A. Stephens Judge: Leonard Strickland Roan Place: Atlanta, Georgia Dates of Trial: July 28-September 26, 1913 Verdict: Guilty Sentence: Death by hanging, commuted by Georgia Governor John Slaton to li…
Defendant: Leon F. Czolgosz Crime Charged: Assassinating President William McKinley Chief Defense Lawyers: Loran L. Lewis and Robert C. Titus Chief Prosecutor: Thomas Penny Judge: Truman C. White Place: Buffalo, New York Dates of Trial: September 23-24, 1901 Verdict: Guilty Sentence: Death by electrocution SIGNIFICANCE: Leon Czolgosz, an avowed anarchist, was tried and sentenced to death for his s…
Defendant Lizzie Borden Crime Charged: Murder Chief Defense Lawyers: Andrew Jennings and George D. Robinson Chief Prosecutors: Hosea Knowlton and William H. Moody Judges: Caleb Blodget, Justin Dewey, and Albert Mason Place: Fall River, Massachusetts Dates of Trial: June 5-20, 1893 Verdict: Not guilty SIGNIFICANCE: On the basis of circumstantial evidence, prosecutors accused Lizzie Borden of murder…
Joseph Lochner People of the State of New York That Lochner had not violated the New York Bakeshop Act because the law was an unreasonable exercise of police power. Frank Harvey Field, Henry Weismann Julius M. Mayer, attorney general of New York David Josiah Brewer, Henry Billings Brown, Melville Weston Fuller, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Joseph McKenna, Rufus Wheeler Peckham (writing for the Court) Wi…
During the Lochner era (1870–1937), courts interpreted the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to have a substantive content that protected from governmental intrusion certain economic and property interests, such as the right of employers and employees to determine the terms and conditions of their employment relationship. (Though Lochner was decided in 1905, prior c…
D. E. Loewe Martin Lawlor That the union of which Martin Lawlor was the business agent, the United Hatters Union of North America, was acting against the Sherman Anti-Trust Act in unlawful restraint of trade by attempting to organize a boycott of Loewe's company, the Danbury Hatters, in order to force Loewe to permit his company to be unionized. James M. Beck, Daniel Davenport John Kimberly Beach,…
Defendant: Maria Barbella Crime Charged: Murder Chief Defense Lawyers: First trial: Amos Evans, Henry Sedgewick; Second trial: Frederick B. House, Emanuel Friend Chief Prosecutors: John F. McIntyre, Alfred Lauterbach Judges: First trial: John W. Goff; Second trial: H.A. Gildersleeve Place: New York, New York Dates of Trials: First trial: July 11-15, 1895; Second trial: November 17-December 10, 189…
Defendants: James B. McNamara and John J. McNamara Crimes Charged: Murder, for James; dynamiting the Llewellyn Iron Works, for John Chief Defense Lawyers: Clarence Darrow, LeCompte Davis, Job Harriman, Cyrus McNutt, and Joseph Scott Chief Prosecutors: W. Joseph Ford and John D. Fredericks Judge: Walter Bordwell Place: Los Angeles, California Date of Trial: December 1, 1911 Verdict: Guilty Sentence…
Defendants: Mary Harris "Mother" Jones, W.H. Adkins (alias Bunk Adkins), Charles Batley, Tip Belcher, C.H. Boswell, Clyde E. Bowe, William Brandridge, John W. Brown, Leonard Clark, H.V. Craise, Ernest Creigo, Harrison Ellis, Grady Everett, Charles Gillispie, Ed. Gray, Boyd Holley (alias Boyd Adkins), W.H.H. Huffman, Frazier Jarrett, John Jones, Charles Kenney, Sanford Kirk, Charles L…
Curt Muller State of Oregon That Oregon's 1903 maximum hours law for women is unconstitutional. William D. Fenton, Henry H. Gilfry H. B. Adams, Louis Brandeis David Josiah Brewer (writing for the Court), William Rufus Day, Melville Weston Fuller, John Marshall Harlan I, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Joseph McKenna, William Henry Moody, Rufus Wheeler Peckham, Edward Douglass White None Washington, D.C. 24…
Defendants: Antonio Bagnetto, James Caruso, John Caruso, Loretto Comitz, Rocco Geraci, Bastian Incardona, Joseph P. Macheca, Antonio Marchesi, Gasperi Marchesi, Charles Matranga, Pietro Monasterio, Pietro Natali, Charles Patorno, Charles Pietzo, Emmanuelle Polizzi, Frank Romero, Antonio Scaffidi, Salvatore Sunzeri, and Charles Traina Crimes Charged: Shooting with intent to murder, lying in wait to…
Northern Securities Company United States That the Northern Securities holding company did not represent a conspiracy in restraint of trade under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. John W. Griggs, George B. Young, John G. Johnson Philander Chase Knox, U.S. Attorney General; William A. Day David Josiah Brewer, Henry Billings Brown, William Rufus Day, John Marshall Harlan I (writing for the Court), Joseph …
Homer A. Plessy J. H. Ferguson, New Orleans Criminal District Court Judge That Louisiana's law requiring blacks to ride in separate railroad cars violated Plessy's right to equal protection under the law. F. D. McKenney, S. F. Phillips M. J. Cunningham, Louisiana Attorney General Henry Billings Brown (writing for the Court), Stephen Johnson Field, Melville Weston Fuller, Horace Gray, Rufus Wheeler…
Appellant: Homer A. Plessy Respondent: New Orleans Criminal District Court Judge J.H. Ferguson Appellant's Claim: That Louisiana's law requiring blacks to ride in separate railroad cars violated Plessy's right to equal protection under the law Chief Defense Lawyer: M.J. Cunningham Chief Lawyers for Appellant: F.D. McKenney and S.F. Phillips Justices: Supreme Court Justices Dav…
Defendant: Robert Buchanan Crime Charged: Murder Chief Defense Lawyers: Charles W. Brooks, William J. O'Sullivan Chief Prosecutors: De Lance Nicoll, James Osborne, Francis Weliman Judge: E. C. Smyth Place: New York, New York Date of Trial: March 20—April 26, 1893 Verdict: Guilty Sentence: Death SIGNIFICANCE: This was one of the earliest trials to be fought almost exclusively on foren…
Defendant: Roland Burnham Molineux Crime Charged: Murder Chief Defense Lawyers: First trial: George Gordon Battle and Bartow Weeks; Second trial: Frank C. Black Chief Prosecutor: James W. Osborne, both trials Judge: First trial: John Goff; Second trial: John Lambert Place:New York, New York Dates of Trials: First trial: November 14, 1899-February 11, 1900; Second trial: October 1902 Verdicts: Firs…
Sharon v. Hill (Federal Court Appeal) Plaintiff: William Sharon (later substituted by Frederick Sharon) Defendant: Sarah Althea Hill Plaintiff Claim: To cancel and annul the marriage contract between William Sharon and Sarah Althea Hill and to declare the contract a forgery Chief Lawyers for Plaintiff: William M. Stewart, Oliver P. Evans Chief Lawyers for Defendant: George W. Tyler, W. B. Tyler, D…
Swift and Company United States That the meat packing operations of Swift and Company were entirely conducted within a state, and thus could not fall under the jurisdiction of the Interstate Commerce Clause of the Constitution,and could not be judged to be a violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which was only intended to regulate interstate trade. Further, that the provisions of the Sherman Ac…
Defendant: William Henry Theodore Durrant Crime Charged: Murder Chief Defense Lawyers: Eugene N. Deuprey and John H. Dickinson Chief Prosecutors: W.H. Anderson, William S. Barnes, W.F. Fitzgerald, and Edgar D. Peixotto Judge: D.J. Murphy Place: San Francisco, California Dates of Trial: April 15-November 1, 1895 Verdict: Guilty Sentence: Death by hanging SIGNIFICANCE: "Theo" Durrant w…
Defendant: Thomas J. Mooney Crime Charged: Murder Chief Defense Lawyers: W. Bourke Cockran and Maxwell McNutt Chief Prosecutors: Edward A. Cunha and Charles Fickert Judge: Franklin A. Griffin Place: San Francisco, California Dates of Trial: January 3-February 9, 1917 Verdict: Guilty Sentence: Death by hanging, later commuted, then pardoned SIGNIFICANCE: Tom Mooney's case demonstrated how Am…
Defendants: Gertrude Crocker, Gladys Greiner, Alice Paul, and Dr. Caroline Spencer Crime Charged: Obstructing a sidewalk Chief Defense Lawyer: Dudley Field Malone Chief Prosecutor: Hart (first name unavailable) Judge: Alexander Mullowney Date: October 22, 1917 Verdicts: Guilty Sentences: Alice Paul and Caroline Spencer: 7 months in prison; Gertrude Crocker and Gladys Grenier: $5.00 fine or 30 days…
Defendants: Triangle Shirtwaist Company partners Max Blanck and Isaac Harris Crime Charged: Manslaughter Chief Defense Lawyer: Max D. Steuer Chief Prosecutors: Charles S. Bostwick and J. Robert Rubin Judge: Thomas C.T. Crain Place: New York, New York Dates of Trial: December 4-27, 1911 Verdict: Not guilty SIGNIFICANCE: Despite Max Blanck's and Isaac Harris' acquittal, the death of 14…
William Truax, Sr., Wiley E. Jones, W. G. Gilmore Mike Raich That a U.S. district court erred in preventing enforcement of Arizona's Anti-Alien Act. Wiley E. Jones, Leslie C. Hardy, George W. Harben Alexander Britton, Evans Browne, Francis W. Clements Louis D. Brandeis, William Rufus Day, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Charles Evans Hughes (writing for the Court), Joseph McKenna, Mahlon Pitney, Willis Van…
Albert C. Twining, David C. Cornell State of New Jersey That New Jersey's Court of Errors & Appeals erred in upholding a conviction obtained in a trial during which the appellants' Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process under the law were violated. James Johnson, William Gooch, Herbert Smyth, Frederick Scofield (for Twining), Marshall Van Winkle (for Cornell) H.M. Nevious, Robert McCarter Davi…
United States E. C. Knight Company, American Sugar Refining Company, Franklin Sugar Company, Spreckels Sugar Refining Company, Delaware Sugar House That lower courts erred in finding that the named sugar refining companies had not violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890. Lawrence Maxwell Jr., U.S. Solicitor General; Richard Olney, U.S. Attorney General John E. Parsons, John G. Johnson Henry Bi…
Defendants: Joseph F. Shipp, Matthew Galloway, Jeremiah Gibson, Nick Nolan, William Mayes, Henry Padgett, Alf Handman, Bart Justice, Luther Williams Crime Charged: Criminal contempt of court Chief Defense Lawyer: Judson Harmon Chief Prosecutors: Terry Sanford, Charles Bonaparte Judges: Melville W. Fuller, John Marshall Harlan, David J. Brewer, Edward D. White, Rufus W. Peckham, Jeseph McKenna, Oli…
U.S. Justice Department Standard Oil of New Jersey That Standard Oil was a monopoly and engaged in a conspiracy of restraint of trade. Frank B. Kellogg John G. Milburn William Rufus Day, John Marshall Harlan I, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Charles Evans Hughes, Joseph Rucker Lamar, Horace Harmon Lurton, Joseph McKenna, Willis Van Devanter, Edward Douglass White None Washington, D.C. 15 May 1911 Sustaine…
United States A commercial fishing company That the fishing company, by putting in place a device known as a fishing wheel and by other forceful means, had deprived the Yakima Indian tribe of its rights to fish in its traditional spot on the Columbia River as per a treaty signed with the United States government during the nineteenth century. Henry M. Hoyt, U.S. Solicitor General Charles H. Carey …
United States Wong Kim Ark That the U.S. district court's affirmation of Wong's citizenship was in error. Solicitor General Holmes Conrad, George D. Collins Thomas D. Riordan David Josiah Brewer, Henry Billings Brown, Horace Gray (writing for the Court), Rufus Wheeler Peckham, George Shiras, Jr., Edward Douglass White Melville Weston Fuller, John Marshall Harlan I (Joseph McKenna did not participa…
Plaintiff: Andrew Vosburg Defendant: George Putney Plaintiff Claim: That defendant kicked plaintiff and otherwise ill-treated him, thereby making plaintiff ill, causing great pain and mental anguish, and leaving him permanently crippled Chief Defense Lawyers: Milton Griswold, Theron Haight Chief Lawyers for Plaintiff: Ernst Merton, Timothy Edward Ryan Judge: Andrew Scott Sloan Place: Waukesha, Wis…
Defendant: William Dudley Haywood Crime Charged: Conspiracy to commit murder Chief Defense Lawyers: Clarence Darrow, Fred Miller, John Nugent, Edmund Richardson, and Edgar Wilson Chief Prosecutors: William E. Borah, James H. Hawley, Charles Koelsche, and Owen M. Van Duyn Judge: Fremont Wood Place: Boise, Idaho Dates of Trial: May 9-July 28, 1907 Verdict: Not guilty SIGNIFICANCE: The government use…
Plaintiff: Madeline V. Pollard Defendant: William Campbell Preston Breckinridge Plaintiff Claim: Breach of promise Chief Lawyers for Plaintiff: Jeremiah M. Wilson, Calderon Carlisle, William G. Johnson. E. P. Farrell assisted with pretrial matters Chief Defense Lawyers: Benjamin Butterworth, Philip B. Thompson, Jr., W. A. McKenny, John H. Stoll, John T. Shelby, William G. Mattingly. Enoch Totten, …
Francis M. Wilson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri Alexander New and Henry C. Ferris, as Receivers of the Missouri, Oklahoma, & Gulf Railway Company The act of 3 September 1916 entitled "An Act to establish an eight-hour day for employees of carriers engaged in interstate and foreign commerce, and for other purposes" is constitutional and is aimed at establishing an eight-hour s…
Henry Winters, John W. Acker, Chris Cruse, Agnes Downs and the Empire Cattle Company United States That appropriated water rights to the Milk River of Montana were valid and had priority over those of the Fort Belknap Native Americans and the United States. Edward C. Day Sanford, Assistant Attorney General William Rufus Day, Melville Weston Fuller, John Marshall Harlan I, Joseph McKenna (writing f…
Yick Wo Peter Hopkins, San Francisco Sheriff That San Francisco was enforcing an ordinance in an unlawfully discriminatory manner against the defendant and other Chinese persons. Hall McAllister, D. L. Smoot, L. H. Van Schaick Alfred Clarke, H. G. Sieberst Samuel Blatchford, Joseph P. Bradley, Stephen Johnson Field, Horace Gray, John Marshall Harlan I, Stanley Matthews (writing for the Court), Sam…
Appellant: Yick Wo Defendant: Sheriff Peter Hopkins, San Francisco, California Appellant Claim: That San Francisco was enforcing an ordinance in an unlawfully discriminatory manner against the defendant and other Chinese persons Chief Defense Lawyers: Alfred Clarke and H. G. Sieberst Chief Lawyers for Appellant: Hall McAllister, D.L. Smoot, and L.H. Van Schaick Justices: Samuel Blatchford, Joseph …