# List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 309

This is a list of cases reported in volume 309 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1939 and 1940.

## Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 309 U.S.

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 volume 309 were decided the Court comprised the following members:
| Justice | Office | Home State | Succeeded | Date confirmed by the Senate (Vote) | Tenure on Supreme Court |
| Charles Evans Hughes | Chief Justice | New York | William Howard Taft | February 13, 1930 (52–26) | February 24, 1930 – June 30, 1941 (Retired) |
| James Clark McReynolds | Associate Justice | Tennessee | Horace Harmon Lurton | August 29, 1914 (44–6) | October 12, 1914 – January 31, 1941 (Retired) |
| Harlan F. Stone | Associate Justice | New York | Joseph McKenna | February 5, 1925 (71–6) | March 2, 1925 – July 2, 1941 (Continued as chief justice) |
| Owen Roberts | Associate Justice | Pennsylvania | Edward Terry Sanford | May 20, 1930 (Acclamation) | June 2, 1930 – July 31, 1945 (Resigned) |
| Hugo Black | Associate Justice | Alabama | Willis Van Devanter | August 17, 1937 (63–16) | August 19, 1937 – September 17, 1971 (Retired) |
| Stanley Forman Reed | Associate Justice | Kentucky | George Sutherland | January 25, 1938 (Acclamation) | January 31, 1938 – February 25, 1957 (Retired) |
| Felix Frankfurter | Associate Justice | Massachusetts | Benjamin Nathan Cardozo | January 17, 1939 (Acclamation) | January 30, 1939 – August 28, 1962 (Retired) |
| William O. Douglas | Associate Justice | Connecticut | Louis Brandeis | April 4, 1939 (62–4) | April 17, 1939 – November 12, 1975 (Retired) |
| Frank Murphy | Associate Justice | Michigan | Pierce Butler | January 16, 1940 (Acclamation) | February 5, 1940 – July 19, 1949 (Died) |

## Federal court system

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.

## List of cases in volume 309 U.S.

| Case name | Citation | Opinion of the Court | Vote | Concurring opinion or statement | Dissenting opinion or statement | Procedural jurisdiction | Result |
| Miller v. Hatfield | 309 U.S. 1 (1940) | per curiam | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (6th Cir.) | reversed |
| McGoldrick, Comptroller of the City of New York v. Gulf Oil Corporation | 309 U.S. 2 (1940) | per curiam | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the New York Supreme Court (N.Y. Sup. Ct.) | dismissed |
| Oklahoma Packing Company v. Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company | 309 U.S. 4 (1939) | Frankfurter | 8-0 | Hughes (opinion; joined by McReynolds and Roberts) | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (10th Cir.) | reversed |
| Real Estate-Land Title and Trust Company v. United States | 309 U.S. 13 (1940) | Douglas | 6-0[a][b] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (3d Cir.) | affirmed |
| Yearsley v. W.A. Ross Trust Company | 309 U.S. 18 (1940) | Hughes | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (8th Cir.) | affirmed |
| Carpenter v. Wabash Railroad Company | 309 U.S. 23 (1940) | Hughes | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (8th Cir.) | vacated |
| Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania v. Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission | 309 U.S. 30 (1940) | per curiam | 8-0 | none | none | appeal from the Superior Court of Pennsylvania (Pa. Super. Ct.) | dismissed |
| McGoldrick, Comptroller of the City of New York v. Berwind-White Coal Mining Company | 309 U.S. 33 (1940) | Stone | 5-3 | none | Hughes (opinion; joined by McReynolds and Roberts) | certiorari to the New York Supreme Court (N.Y. Sup. Ct.) | reversed |
| McGoldrick, Comptroller of the City of New York v. Felt and Tarrant Manufacturing Company | 309 U.S. 70 (1940) | Stone | 5-3 | none | Hughes, McReynolds, and Roberts (on the grounds of their dissent in McGoldrick, Comptroller of the City of New York v. Berwind-White Coal Mining Company) | certiorari to the New York Supreme Court (N.Y. Sup. Ct.) | reversed |
| Morgan v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue | 309 U.S. 78 (1940) | Roberts | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (7th Cir.) | affirmed |
| Madden v. Kentucky | 309 U.S. 83 (1940) | Reed | 6-2 | Hughes (short statement) | Roberts (short statement; joined by McReynolds) | appeal from the Kentucky Court of Appeals (Ky.) | affirmed |
| James Stewart and Company v. Sadrakula | 309 U.S. 94 (1940) | Reed | 8-0 | none | none | appeal from the New York Supreme Court (N.Y. Sup. Ct.) | affirmed |
| Helvering, Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Hallock | 309 U.S. 106 (1940) | Frankfurter | 6-2 | Hughes (short statement) | Roberts (opinion; joined by McReynolds) | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (6th Cir.) | affirmed (one case); reversed (four cases) |
| Federal Communications Commission v. Pottsville Broadcasting Company | 309 U.S. 134 (1940) | Frankfurter | 8-0 | McReynolds (without opinion) | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Cir.) | reversed |
| Fly v. Heitmeyer | 309 U.S. 146 (1940) | Frankfurter | 8-0 | McReynolds (without opinion) | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Cir.) | reversed |
| Helvering, Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Fitch | 309 U.S. 149 (1940) | Douglas | 7-1 | Reed (without opinion) | McReynolds (without opinion) | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (8th Cir.) | reversed |
| Illinois Central Railroad Company v. Minnesota | 309 U.S. 157 (1940) | Douglas | 8-0 | none | none | appeal from the Minnesota Supreme Court (Minn.) | affirmed |
| United States ex rel. Midland Loan Finance Company v. National Surety Corporation | 309 U.S. 165 (1940) | Reed | 8-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (8th Cir.) | affirmed |
| McCarroll v. Dixie Greyhound Lines, Inc. | 309 U.S. 176 (1940) | McReynolds | 8-0[c] | Stone (opinion; joined by Hughes, Roberts, and Reed) | none | appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (8th Cir.) | affirmed |
| Deitrick v. Greaney | 309 U.S. 190 (1940) | Stone | 6-2[c] | none | Roberts (opinion; joined by McReynolds) | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (1st Cir.) | reversed |
| National Labor Relations Board v. Waterman Steamship Corporation | 309 U.S. 206 (1940) | Black | 8-0[c] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (1st Cir.) | reversed |
| Chambers v. Florida | 309 U.S. 227 (1940) | Black | 8-0[c] | none | none | certiorari to the Florida Supreme Court (Fla.) | reversed |
| Federal Housing Administration v. Burr | 309 U.S. 242 (1940) | Douglas | 8-0[c] | none | none | certiorari to the Michigan Supreme Court (Mich.) | affirmed |
| South Chicago Coal and Dock Company v. Bassett | 309 U.S. 251 (1940) | Hughes | 8-0[c] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (7th Cir.) | affirmed |
| Amalgamated Utility Workers (C.I.O.) v. Consolidated Edison Company of New York | 309 U.S. 261 (1940) | Hughes | 8-0[c] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | affirmed |
| Minnesota ex rel. Pearson v. Probate Court of Ramsey County | 309 U.S. 270 (1940) | Hughes | 9-0 | none | none | appeal from the Minnesota Supreme Court (Minn.) | affirmed |
| Helvering, Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Kehoe | 309 U.S. 277 (1940) | McReynolds | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (3d Cir.) | reversed |
| Russel v. Todd | 309 U.S. 280 (1940) | Stone | 7-1[c] | none | Roberts (without opinion) | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | affirmed |
| Fischer v. Pauline Oil and Gas Company | 309 U.S. 294 (1940) | Roberts | 8-0[c] | none | none | certiorari to the Oklahoma Supreme Court (Okla.) | reversed |
| Germantown Trust Company v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue | 309 U.S. 304 (1940) | Roberts | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (3d Cir.) | reversed |
| Mayo, Commissioner of Agriculture of Florida v. Lakeland Highlands Canning Company | 309 U.S. 310 (1940) | Roberts | 5-3[c] | none | Frankfurter (opinion; joined by Black and Douglas) | appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (S.D. Fla.) | reversed |
| Cobbledick v. United States | 309 U.S. 323 (1940) | Frankfurter | 8-0[c] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (9th Cir.) | affirmed |
| Helvering, Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Clifford | 309 U.S. 331 (1940) | Douglas | 7-2 | none | Roberts (opinion; joined by McReynolds) | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (8th Cir.) | reversed |
| Helvering, Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Wood | 309 U.S. 344 (1940) | Douglas | 9-0 | Roberts (without opinion) | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | affirmed |
| National Licorice Company v. National Labor Relations Board | 309 U.S. 350 (1940) | Stone | 8-0[c] | Douglas (short statement; joined by Black) | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | affirmed as modified |
| Paramino Lumber Company v. Marshall | 309 U.S. 370 (1940) | Reed | 7-1[c] | none | McReynolds (without opinion) | appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington (W.D. Wash.) | affirmed |
| Dickinson Industrial Site, Inc. v. Cowan | 309 U.S. 382 (1940) | Douglas | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (7th Cir.) | affirmed |
| Sheldon v. Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corporation | 309 U.S. 390 (1940) | Hughes | 8-0[d] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | affirmed |
| Helvering, Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Price | 309 U.S. 409 (1940) | Hughes | 8-0[d] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Cir.) | reversed |
| McGoldrick, Comptroller of the City of New York v. Gulf Oil Corporation | 309 U.S. 414 (1940) | Stone | 8-0[d] | none | none | certiorari to the New York Supreme Court (N.Y. Sup. Ct.) | affirmed |
| McGoldrick, Comptroller of the City of New York v. Compagnie Generale Transatlantique | 309 U.S. 430 (1940) | Stone | 7-0[c][d] | Hughes and Roberts (joint short statement) | none | certiorari to the New York Supreme Court (N.Y. Sup. Ct.) | reversed |
| Ethyl Gasoline Corp. v. United States | 309 U.S. 436 (1940) | Stone | 7-0[a][d] | none | none | appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (S.D.N.Y.) | affirmed |
| Helvering, Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Bruun | 309 U.S. 461 (1940) | Roberts | 8-0[d] | Hughes | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (8th Cir.) | reversed |
| Federal Communications Commission v. Sanders Brothers Radio Station | 309 U.S. 470 (1940) | Roberts | 8-0[d] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Cir.) | reversed |
| Thompson v. Magnolia Petroleum Company | 309 U.S. 478 (1940) | Black | 8-0[d] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (8th Cir.) | reversed |
| Kersh Lake Drainage District v. Johnson | 309 U.S. 485 (1940) | Black | 8-0[d] | none | none | certiorari to the Arkansas Supreme Court (Ark.) | affirmed |
| United States v. Shaw | 309 U.S. 495 (1940) | Reed | 8-0[d] | none | none | certiorari to the Michigan Supreme Court (Mich.) | reversed |
| United States v. United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company | 309 U.S. 506 (1940) | Reed | 8-0[d] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (10th Cir.) | reversed |
| Inland Waterways Corporation v. Young | 309 U.S. 517 (1940) | Frankfurter | 4-3[b][c] | none | Roberts (opinion; joined by Hughes and McReynolds) | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Cir.) | reversed |
| Woodring, Secretary of War v. Wardell | 309 U.S. 527 (1940) | Frankfurter | 4-3[b][c] | none | Hughes, McReynolds, and Roberts (for the reasons stated in their dissent in Inland Waterways Corporation v. Young) | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Cir.) | affirmed reversed |
| Whitney v. State Tax Commission of New York | 309 U.S. 530 (1940) | Frankfurter | 7-1[d] | none | Roberts (short statement) | appeal from the New York Surrogate's Court (N.Y. Sur. Ct.) | affirmed |
| Puerto Rico v. Rubert Hermanos, Inc. | 309 U.S. 543 (1940) | Frankfurter | 8-0[d] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit (1st Cir.) | reversed |
| Minnesota v. National Tea Company | 309 U.S. 551 (1940) | Douglas | 5-3[d] | none | Hughes (opinion; joined by Stone and Roberts) | certiorari to the Minnesota Supreme Court (Minn.) | vacated |
| Tradesmens National Bank v. Oklahoma Tax Commission | 309 U.S. 560 (1940) | Murphy | 9-0 | none | none | appeal from the Oklahoma Supreme Court (Okla.) | affirmed |
| Wisconsin v. Illinois | 309 U.S. 569 (1940) | per curiam | 9-0 | none | none | original jurisdiction | special master appointed |
| Wyoming v. Colorado | 309 U.S. 572 (1940) | Hughes | 9-0 | none | none | original jurisdiction | petition of Wyoming denied |
| Western Union Telegraph Company v. Nester | 309 U.S. 582 (1940) | McReynolds | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (9th Cir.) | reversed |
| City of Yonkers v. Downey | 309 U.S. 590 (1940) | McReynolds | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | affirmed |
| Maurer v. Hamilton, Secretary of Revenue of Pennsylvania | 309 U.S. 598 (1940) | Stone | 9-0 | none | none | appeal from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (Pa.) | affirmed |
    [a] Roberts took no part in the case
    [b] Reed took no part in the case
    [c] Murphy took no part in the case
    [d] McReynolds took no part in the case