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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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List Of United States Supreme Court Cases, Volume 40
This is a list of cases reported in volume 40 (15 Pet.) of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1841.

Nominative reports

In 1874, the U.S. government created the United States Reports, and retroactively numbered older privately-published case reports as part of the new series. As a result, cases appearing in volumes 1–90 of U.S. Reports have dual citation forms; one for the volume number of U.S. Reports, and one for the volume number of the reports named for the relevant reporter of decisions (these are called "nominative reports").

Richard Peters, Jr.

Starting with the 26th volume of U.S. Reports, the Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States was Richard Peters, Jr. Peters was Reporter of Decisions from 1828 to 1843, covering volumes 26 through 41 of United States Reports which correspond to volumes 1 through 16 of his Peters's Reports. As such, the dual form of citation to, for example, Levy v. Fitzpatrick is 40 U.S. (15 Pet.) 167 (1841).

Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of 40 U.S. (15 Pet.)

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). 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 40 U.S. (15 Pet.) were decided the Court comprised nine justices at the start of the 1841 term, but only eight when it adjourned in March 1841; Justice Philip P. Barbour had died in February 1841.

Portrait Justice Office Home State Succeeded Date confirmed by the Senate
(Vote) 		Tenure on Supreme Court
Roger B. Taney Chief Justice Maryland John Marshall March 15, 1836
(29–15) 		March 28, 1836
–
October 12, 1864
(Died)
Joseph Story
 Associate Justice Massachusetts William Cushing November 18, 1811
(Acclamation) 		February 3, 1812
–
September 10, 1845
(Died)
Smith Thompson Associate Justice New York Henry Brockholst Livingston December 9, 1823
(Acclamation) 		September 1, 1823
–
December 18, 1843
(Died)
John McLean Associate Justice Ohio Robert Trimble March 7, 1829
(Acclamation) 		January 11, 1830
–
April 4, 1861
(Died)
Henry Baldwin Associate Justice Pennsylvania Bushrod Washington January 6, 1830
(41–2) 		January 18, 1830
–
April 21, 1844
(Died)
James Moore Wayne Associate Justice Georgia William Johnson January 9, 1835
(Acclamation) 		January 14, 1835
–
July 5, 1867
(Died)
Philip P. Barbour Associate Justice

Virginia

Gabriel Duvall March 15, 1836
(30–11) 		May 12, 1836
–
February 25, 1841
(Died)
John Catron Associate Justice Tennessee newly created seat March 8, 1837
(28–15) 		May 1, 1837
–
May 30, 1865
(Died)
John McKinley Associate Justice Alabama newly created seat September 25, 1837
(Acclamation) 		January 9, 1838
–
July 19, 1852
(Died)

Notable Case in 40 U.S. (15 Pet.)

Portrait of Kimbo, one of 36 men aboard La Amistad, c. 1839–1840

The Schooner Amistad

The Schooner Amistad, 40 U.S. (15 Pet.) 518 (1841), resulted from the rebellion of kidnapped Africans on board the Spanish schooner La Amistad in 1839. It was an unusual freedom suit that involved international issues and parties as well as U.S. law. The lower courts ruled that the captives had acted as free men when they fought to escape their illegal confinement and were entitled to take whatever measures were necessary to secure their freedom, including the use of force. Under international and Southern sectional pressure, American President Martin Van Buren ordered the case appealed to the US Supreme Court, which affirmed the lower court ruling and authorized release of the captives.

Citation style

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.

List of cases in 40 U.S. (15 Pet.)

See also: Taney Court
Case Name Page & year Opinion of the Court Concurring opinion(s) Dissenting opinion(s) Lower court Disposition
Vaughan v. Northup 1 (1841) Story none none C.C.D.C. affirmed
Gaines v. Relf 9 (1841) Thompson none none C.C.E.D. La. certification
Coons' Lessee v. Gallaher 18 (1841) Taney none none Ohio dismissed
Mayburry v. Brien 21 (1841) McLean none none C.C.D. Md. affirmed
The Schooner North Carolina 40 (1841) Taney none none Ct. App. Terr. Fla. reversed
Colin Mitchel v. United States 52 (1841) Wayne none none Fla. Super. Ct. affirmed
Brush v. Ware 93 (1841) McLean none none C.C.D. Ohio affirmed
Gorman v. Lenox's Executors 115 (1841) McLean none none C.C.D.C. affirmed
Ex parte Crenshaw 119 (1841) Taney none none C.C.S.D. Ala. decree nullified
Smith v. Clapp 125 (1841) McKinley none none C.C.S.D. Ala. affirmed
United States v. Rodman 130 (1841) Wayne none none Fla. Super. Ct. affirmed
United States v. Dickson 141 (1841) Story none none C.C.S.D. Miss. affirmed
Levy v. Fitzpatrick 167 (1841) McKinley none none C.C.E.D. La. dismissed
United States v. Forbes' Heirs 173 (1841) Catron none none Fla. Super. Ct. reversed
United States v. Boyd 187 (1841) Catron none none C.C.S.D. Miss. reversed
Amis v. Pearle 211 (1841) Story none none not indicated dismissed
Lea v. Kelly 213 (1841) Taney none none C.C.S.D. Ala. dismissed
Buyck v. United States 215 (1841) Wayne none none Fla. Super. Ct. affirmed
United States v. Delespins's Heirs 226 (1841) Wayne none none Fla. Super. Ct. affirmed
Rhode Island v. Massachusetts 233 (1841) Taney none none original order to answer
O'Hara v. United States 275 (1841) Wayne none none Fla. Super. Ct. affirmed
Gwin v. Breedlove 284 (1841) Taney none none C.C.S.D. Miss. decree nullified
Young v. Smith 287 (1841) Story none none C.C.S.D. Ala. dismissed
United States v. Linn 290 (1841) Thompson none none C.C.D. Ill. certification
Gratiot v. United States 336 (1841) Story none none C.C.D. Mo. reversed
United States v. Bank of the Metropolis 377 (1841) Wayne none none C.C.D.C. affirmed
United States v. Fitzgerald 407 (1841) McKinley none none C.C.E.D. La. affirmed
Minis v. United States 423 (1841) Story none none C.C.D. Ga. affirmed
Groves v. Slaughter 449 (1841) Thompson McLean, Taney none C.C.E.D. La. affirmed
The Schooner Amistad 518 (1841) Story none none C.C.D. Conn. multiple

Notes and references

  1. ^ Anne Ashmore, DATES OF SUPREME COURT DECISIONS AND ARGUMENTS, Library, Supreme Court of the United States, 26 December 2018.
  2. ^ "Supreme Court Research Guide". Georgetown Law Library. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  3. ^ On February 26, 1841, outgoing President Martin Van Buren, a Democrat, nominated Peter Vivian Daniel to serve as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, to the seat vacated at Barbour's death the prior month. As Daniel's nomination to the Court was made during the last week of the president's term, and with his elected successor William Henry Harrison of the Whig party due to take office on March 4, 1841, Whigs opposed confirmation in the Senate. Nonetheless, the Senate confirmed Daniel by a wide margin (25–5) on March 2, 1841, and he received his commission the following day. His actual service on the Supreme Court, however, began on January 10, 1842.

See also

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