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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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List Of United States Supreme Court Cases, Volume 69

This is a list of cases reported in volume 69 (2 Wall.) of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1864 and 1865.

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").

John William Wallace

Starting with the 66th volume of U.S. Reports, the Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States was John William Wallace. Wallace was Reporter of Decisions from 1863 to 1874, covering volumes 68 through 90 of United States Reports which correspond to volumes 1 through 23 of his Wallace's Reports. As such, the dual form of citation to, for example, The Andromeda is 69 U.S. (2 Wall.) 481 (1865).

Wallace's Reports were the final nominative reports for the US Supreme Court; starting with volume 91, cases were identified simply as "(volume #) U.S. (page #) (year)".

Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of 69 U.S. (2 Wall.)

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 69 U.S. (2 Wall.) were decided the Court's membership began at ten justices, then shrank to nine upon the death of Chief Justice Taney in October 1864, and increased again to the statutory number of ten when Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase took office in December 1864:

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)
Salmon P. Chase Chief Justice Ohio Roger B. Taney December 6, 1864
(Acclamation)
December 15, 1864

May 7, 1873
(Died)
James Moore Wayne Associate Justice Georgia William Johnson January 9, 1835
(Acclamation)
January 14, 1835

July 5, 1867
(Died)
John Catron Associate Justice Tennessee newly created seat March 8, 1837
(28–15)
May 1, 1837

May 30, 1865
(Died)
Samuel Nelson Associate Justice New York Smith Thompson February 14, 1845
(Acclamation)
February 27, 1845

November 28, 1872
(Retired)
Robert Cooper Grier Associate Justice Pennsylvania Henry Baldwin August 4, 1846
(Acclamation)
August 10, 1846

January 31, 1870
(Retired)
Nathan Clifford Associate Justice Maine Benjamin Robbins Curtis January 12, 1858
(26–23)
January 21, 1858

July 25, 1881
(Died)
Noah Haynes Swayne Associate Justice Ohio John McLean January 24, 1862
(38–1)
January 27, 1862

January 24, 1881
(Retired)
Samuel Freeman Miller Associate Justice Iowa Peter Vivian Daniel July 16, 1862
(Acclamation)
July 21, 1862

October 13, 1890
(Died)
David Davis Associate Justice Illinois John Archibald Campbell December 8, 1862
(Acclamation)
December 10, 1862

March 4, 1877
(Resigned)
Stephen Johnson Field Associate Justice California newly created seat March 10, 1863
(Acclamation)
May 10, 1863

December 1, 1897
(Retired)

Notable Cases in 69 U.S. (2 Wall.)

Sketch of interior of a slave ship

The Slavers Cases

The four Slavers Cases ((The Bark Kate), 69 U.S. (2 Wall.) 350 (1865); (The Bark Sarah), 69 U.S. (2 Wall.) 366 (1865); (The Weathergage), 69 U.S. (2 Wall.) 375 (1865); and (The Bark Reindeer), 69 U.S. (2 Wall.) 383 (1865)), involve three ships seized by the federal government near New York City, and one seized off Newport, Rhode Island. The ships appeared to be set up for the slave trade, and had voyages planned to the western coast of Africa where the slave trade flourished at the time. The cargo, fittings, and other circumstances surrounding the ships led to a presumption that they were engaged in slaving, contrary to several federal statutes.

In The Bark Kate (at pp. 363–64), Chief Justice Chase wrote in his opinion for the Court:

In considering this evidence, it is to be borne in mind that for more than three hundred years the western coast of Africa has been scourged by the atrocities of the slave trade, and that this inhuman traffic, although at length proscribed and pursued with severe penalties by nearly all Christian nations, has continued, with almost unabated activity and ferocity, even to our times. Fears of forfeiture of property, and even of life, have been easily overcome by hopes of enormous gains, and so long as markets for slaves remain open, and imperfect execution of the laws permits the expectation of profit from crime, the most conspicuous results of penal legislation will be, more cunning in the contrivance and more adroitness in the use of means for evading or defeating its intent and operation. The difficulty of penetrating the disguises of crime is enhanced in the case of the slave trade by the circumstance that a very considerable traffic [in lawful commerce] . . . has sprung up and is carried on with the same African coast from which human cargoes are collected. It does not seem unreasonable, since it is the paramount interest of humanity that the traffic in men be at all events arrested, to require of the trader who engages in a commerce [that] . . . is necessarily suspicious from its theater and circumstances, that he keep his operations so clear and so distinct in their character as to repel the imputation of prohibited purpose.

In each of the four cases the Supreme Court upheld seizure of the ships by the federal government.

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.

List of cases in 69 U.S. (2 Wall.)

Case Name Page & year Opinion of the Court Concurring opinion(s) Dissenting opinion(s) Lower Court Disposition
Dermott v. Jones 1 (1865) Swayne none none C.C.D.C. reversed
Hawthorne v. Calef 10 (1865) Nelson none none Me. reversed
Drury v. Foster 24 (1865) Nelson none none "Federal Ct. Minn." (sic) affirmed
Miles v. Caldwell 35 (1865) Miller none none C.C.D. Mo. reversed
Providence T. Co. v. Norris 45 (1865) Field none none C.C.D.R.I. reversed
Gregg v. Forsyth 56 (1865) Nelson none none C.C.D. Ill. dismissed
Banks v. Ogden 57 (1865) Chase none none C.C.N.D. Ill. reversed
Brooks v. Martin 70 (1864) Miller none Catron "Federal Ct. Wis." (sic) affirmed
Badger v. Badger 87 (1865) Grier none none C.C.D. Mass. affirmed
Brobst v. Brobst 96 (1865) Nelson none none not indicated certification
Day v. Gallup 97 (1865) Wayne none none "Federal Ct. Minn." (sic) dismissed
Humiston v. Stainthorp 106 (1865) Nelson none none C.C.N.D.N.Y. dismissed
Murray v. Lardner 110 (1865) Swayne none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. reversed
Heckers v. Fowler 123 (1865) Clifford none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed
Ex parte Dugan 134 (1865) per curiam none none Sup. Ct. D.C. certiorari granted
The Circassian 135 (1865) Chase none Nelson S.D. Fla. affirmed
Freeborn v. Smith 160 (1865) Grier none none Sup. Ct. Terr. Nev. affirmed
Sheets v. Selden's Lessee 177 (1865) Field none none C.C.D. Ind. affirmed
Chittenden v. Brewster 191 (1865) Nelson none none C.C.N.D. Ill. reversed
Campbell v. Read 198 (1865) Chase none none C.C.D.C. dismissed
Bank Tax Case 200 (1865) Nelson none none N.Y. reversed
Florentine v. Barton 210 (1865) Grier none none C.C.N.D. Ill. affirmed
Cooke v. United States 218 (1864) Chase none none not indicated dismissal denied
Smith v. United States 219 (1865) Clifford none none C.C.N.D. Ill. reversed
Miller v. Sherry 237 (1865) Swayne none none C.C.N.D. Ill. affirmed
Marine Bank v. Fulton Bank 252 (1865) Miller none none C.C.N.D. Ill. affirmed
The Venice 258 (1865) Chase none none S.D. Fla. affirmed
Pico v. United States 279 (1865) Field none none N.D. Cal. affirmed
Bronson v. La Crosse & M.R.R. Co. 283 (1864) Nelson none none C.C.D. Wis. reversed
Ransom v. Williams 313 (1865) Swayne none none C.C.N.D. Ill. affirmed
Case v. Brown 320 (1865) Grier none none C.C.N.D. Ill. affirmed
Harvey v. Tyler 328 (1865) Miller none none W.D. Va. affirmed
The Slavers I 350 (1865) Chase none none S.D.N.Y. affirmed
The Slavers II 366 (1865) Clifford none none S.D.N.Y. affirmed
The Slavers III 375 (1865) Clifford none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed
The Slavers IV 383 (1865) Clifford none none C.C.D.R.I. affirmed
Albany B. Case 403 (1865) per curiam none none C.C.N.D.N.Y. affirmed
Mrs. Alexander's Cotton 404 (1865) Chase none none S.D. Ill. reversed
Tobey v. Leonards 423 (1865) Wayne none none C.C.D. Mass. reversed
Milwaukee & M.R.R. Co. v. Soutter I 440 (1865) Chase none none "Federal Ct. Wis." (sic) dismissal denied
United States v. Billing 444 (1865) Grier none none not indicated affirmed
Pacific Mail S.S. Co. v. Joliffe 450 (1865) Field none Miller San Francisco Cnty. Ct. affirmed
The Baigorry 474 (1865) Chase none none not indicated affirmed
The Andromeda 481 (1865) Chase Nelson none S.D. Fla. affirmed
Kutter v. Smith 491 (1865) Miller none none C.C.N.D. Ill. affirmed
Levy Court v. Coroner 501 (1865) Miller none none C.C.D.C. affirmed
Milwaukee & M.R.R. Co. v. Soutter II 510 (1865) Miller none none C.C.D. Wis. reversed
United States v. Stone 525 (1865) Grier none none "Federal Ct. Kan." (sic) affirmed
The Ann Caroline 538 (1865) Clifford none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed
The Morning Light 550 (1865) Clifford none none C.C.S.D.N.Y. affirmed
Gordon v. United States 561 (1865) per curiam none none Ct. Cl. dismissed
The Sutter Case 562 (1865) Nelson none none N.D. Cal. reversed
United States v. Pacheco 587 (1865) Field none none N.D. Cal. affirmed
Read v. Bowman 591 (1865) Clifford none none C.C.N.D. Ill. affirmed
Hogan v. Page 605 (1865) Nelson none none Mo. reversed
Minnesota Co. v. St. Paul Co. 609 (1865) Miller none Nelson C.C.D. Wis. reversed
The Fossat Case 649 (1864) Nelson none Clifford D. Cal. reversed
Lowber v. Bangs 728 (1865) Swayne none Clifford C.C.D. Mass. reversed
Ex parte Fleming 759 (1865) Miller none none D. Wis. mandamus denied

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.

See also

Certificate of division