# List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 8

This is a list of cases reported in volume 8 (4 Cranch) of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1807 and 1808.

## 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").

### William Cranch

Starting with the 5th volume of U.S. Reports, the Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States was William Cranch. Cranch was Reporter of Decisions from 1801 to 1815, covering volumes 5 through 13 of United States Reports which correspond to volumes 1 through 9 of his Cranch's Reports. As such, the complete citation to, for example, Jennings v. Carson is 8 U.S. (4 Cranch) 2 (1807).

## Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of 8 U.S. (4 Cranch)

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 8 U.S. (4 Cranch) were decided, the Court comprised these seven justices:
| Justice | Office | Home State | Succeeded | Date confirmed by the Senate (Vote) | Tenure on Supreme Court |
| John Marshall | Chief Justice | Virginia | Oliver Ellsworth | January 27, 1801 (Acclamation) | February 4, 1801 – July 6, 1835 (Died) |
| William Cushing | Associate Justice | Massachusetts | original seat established | September 26, 1789 (Acclamation) | February 2, 1790 – September 13, 1810 (Died) |
| Samuel Chase | Associate Justice | Maryland | John Blair, Jr. | January 27, 1796 (Acclamation) | February 4, 1796 – June 19, 1811 (Died) |
| Bushrod Washington | Associate Justice | Virginia | James Wilson | December 20, 1798 (Acclamation) | November 9, 1798 (Recess Appointment) – November 26, 1829 (Died) |
| William Johnson | Associate Justice | South Carolina | Alfred Moore | March 24, 1804 (Acclamation) | May 7, 1804 – August 4, 1834 (Died) |
| Henry Brockholst Livingston | Associate Justice | New York | William Paterson | December 17, 1806 (Acclamation) | January 20, 1807 – March 18, 1823 (Died) |
| Thomas Todd | Associate Justice | Kentucky | new seat | March 2, 1807 (Acclamation) | March 3, 1807 – February 7, 1826 (Died) |

## Notable cases in 8 U.S. (4 Cranch)
### Ex parte Bollman

In Ex parte Bollman, 8 U.S. (4 Cranch) 75 (1807) the Supreme Court held that the constitutional definition of treason excluded mere conspiracy to levy war against the United States. Erick Bollman and Samuel Swartwout were civilians who became implicated in the Burr-Wilkinson Plot. This plot supposedly consisted of Aaron Burr and James Wilkinson attempting to create an empire in the United States, ruled by Burr. In 1806, Wilkinson informed Thomas Jefferson of the plot, ending whatever may have actually been planned. Bollman and Swartwout attempted to recruit others into the plot, but these individuals informed the military, which promptly arrested them. The Court decided that "To constitute a levying of war, there must be an assemblage of persons for the purpose of effecting by force a treasonable purpose. Enlistments of men to serve against government is not sufficient."

## 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.
* "C.C.D." = United States Circuit Court for the District of . . .
** e.g.,"C.C.D.N.J." = United States Circuit Court for the District of New Jersey
* "D." = United States District Court for the District of . . .
** e.g.,"D. Mass." = United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
* "E." = Eastern; "M." = Middle; "N." = Northern; "S." = Southern; "W." = Western
** e.g.,"C.C.S.D.N.Y." = United States Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York
** e.g.,"M.D. Ala." = United States District Court for the Middle District of Alabama
* "Ct. Cl." = United States Court of Claims
* The abbreviation of a state's name alone indicates the highest appellate court in that state's judiciary at the time.
** e.g.,"Pa." = Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
** e.g.,"Me." = Supreme Judicial Court of Maine

## List of cases in 8 U.S. (4 Cranch)

| Case Name | Page and year | Opinion of the Court | Concurring opinion(s) | Dissenting opinion(s) | Lower Court | Disposition |
| United States v. Kid | 1 (1807) | per curiam | none | none | C.C.D. Pa. | certification |
| Jennings v. Carson | 2 (1807) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D. Pa. | affirmed |
| Rhinelander v. Insurance Company | 29 (1807) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D. Pa. | certification |
| Montalet v. Murray | 46 (1807) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D. Ga. | certification |
| United States v. Willings | 48 (1807) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D. Pa. | affirmed |
| O'Neale v. Long | 60 (1807) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D.C. | reversed |
| Smith v. Carrington | 62 (1807) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D.R.I. | reversed |
| Pendleton v. Wambersie | 73 (1807) | per curiam | none | none | C.C.D. Ga. | reversed |
| Ex parte Bollman | 75 (1807) | Marshall | Chase | Johnson | C.C.D.C. | habeas corpus granted |
| Skillern's Executors v. May's Executors | 137 (1807) | per curiam | none | none | D. Ky. | reversed |
| French's Executrix v. Bank of Columbia | 141 (1807) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D.C. | reversed |
| Hopkirk v. Bell | 164 (1807) | per curiam | none | none | C.C.D. Va. | certification |
| Hicks v. Rogers | 165 (1807) | per curiam | none | none | C.C.D. Vt. | certification |
| United States v. Cantrill | 167 (1807) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D. Ga. | judgment arrested |
| Sthreshley v. United States | 169 (1807) | Marshall | none | none | D. Ky. | reversed |
| Marshall v. Currie | 172 (1807) | Johnson | none | none | D. Ky. | reversed |
| Viers v. Montgomery | 177 (1807) | per curiam | none | none | D. Ky. | reversed |
| Diggs v. Wolcott | 179 (1807) | per curiam | none | none | C.C.D. Conn. | reversed |
| Wood v. Lide | 180 (1807) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D. Ga. | affirmed |
| Fitzsimmons v. Newport Insurance Company | 185 (1808) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D.R.I. | reversed |
| Marshall v. Delaware Insurance Company | 202 (1808) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D. Pa. | affirmed |
| McIlvaine v. Coxe's Lessee | 209 (1808) | Cushing | none | none | C.C.D.N.J. | affirmed |
| The Brig Union | 216 (1808) | Marshall | none | Johnson | C.C.D. Del. | overruled |
| Pawling v. United States | 219 (1808) | Marshall | none | none | D. Ky. | reversed |
| Grant v. Naylor | 224 (1808) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D. Md. | reversed |
| Woods v. Young | 237 (1808) | per curiam | none | none | C.C.D.C. | affirmed |
| Young v. Preston | 239 (1808) | per curiam | none | none | C.C.D.C. | reversed |
| Rose v. Himely | 241 (1808) | Marshall | Livingston, Johnson | none | C.C.D.S.C. | reversed |
| Hudson v. Guestier | 293 (1808) | Marshall | Johnson | Chase, Livingston | C.C.D.C. | reversed |
| Alexander v. Harris | 299 (1808) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D.C. | affirmed |
| Chappedelaine v. Dechenaux | 306 (1808) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D. Ga. | multiple |
| United States v. Vowell | 316 (1808) | per curiam | none | none | D. Ky. | dismissed certification |
| City of Alexandria v. Patten | 317 (1808) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D.C. | reversed |
| Dawson's Lessee v. Godfrey | 321 (1808) | per curiam | none | none | C.C.D.C. | affirmed |
| Mountz v. Hodgson | 324 (1808) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D.C. | dismissed certification |
| The Ship Charles Carter | 328 (1808) | Chase | none | none | C.C.D. Va. | affirmed |
| United States v. Gurney | 333 (1808) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D. Pa. | certification |
| Peisch v. Ware | 347 (1808) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D. Del. | affirmed |
| Shearman v. Irvine's Lessee | 367 (1808) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D. Ga. | affirmed |
| Alexander v. Baltimore Insurance Company | 370 (1808) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D. Md. | affirmed |
| Morgan v. Callender | 370 (1808) | per curiam | none | none | C.C.D. Orleans | dismissed certification |
| Matthews v. Zane | 382 (1808) | Marshall | none | none | Ohio | jurisdiction set |
| Young v. Bank of Alexandria | 384 (1808) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D.C. | overruled |
| Spires v. Willison | 398 (1808) | Marshall | none | none | D. Ky. | reversed |
| Ramsay v. Lee | 401 (1808) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D.C. | affirmed |
| Stead's Executors v. Course | 403 (1808) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D. Ga. | reversed |
| Higginson v. Mein | 415 (1808) | Marshall | none | Livingston | C.C.D. Ga. | reversed |
| Pollard v. Dwight | 421 (1808) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D. Conn. | reversed |
| Croudson v. Leonard | 434 (1808) | Johnson | Washington | none | C.C.D.C. | reversed |
| Ex parte Lewis | 433 (1808) | per curiam | none | none | C.C.D. Pa. | certification |
| The Schooner Betsey | 443 (1808) | Marshall | none | none | C.C.D.C. | reversed |