# List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 274

This is a list of cases reported in volume 274 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1927.

## Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 274 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 274 were decided the Court comprised the following nine members:
| Justice | Office | Home State | Succeeded | Date confirmed by the Senate (Vote) | Tenure on Supreme Court |
| William Howard Taft | Chief Justice | Connecticut | Edward Douglass White | June 30, 1921 (Acclamation) | July 11, 1921 – February 3, 1930 (Retired) |
| Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. | Associate Justice | Massachusetts | Horace Gray | December 4, 1902 (Acclamation) | December 8, 1902 – January 12, 1932 (Retired) |
| Willis Van Devanter | Associate Justice | Wyoming | Edward Douglass White (as Associate Justice) | December 15, 1910 (Acclamation) | January 3, 1911 – June 2, 1937 (Retired) |
| James Clark McReynolds | Associate Justice | Tennessee | Horace Harmon Lurton | August 29, 1914 (44–6) | October 12, 1914 – January 31, 1941 (Retired) |
| Louis Brandeis | Associate Justice | Massachusetts | Joseph Rucker Lamar | June 1, 1916 (47–22) | June 5, 1916 – February 13, 1939 (Retired) |
| George Sutherland | Associate Justice | Utah | John Hessin Clarke | September 5, 1922 (Acclamation) | October 2, 1922 – January 17, 1938 (Retired) |
| Pierce Butler | Associate Justice | Minnesota | William R. Day | December 21, 1922 (61–8) | January 2, 1923 – November 16, 1939 (Died) |
| Edward Terry Sanford | Associate Justice | Tennessee | Mahlon Pitney | January 29, 1923 (Acclamation) | February 19, 1923 – March 8, 1930 (Died) |
| Harlan F. Stone | Associate Justice | New York | Joseph McKenna | February 5, 1925 (71–6) | March 2, 1925 – July 2, 1941 (Continued as chief justice) |

## Notable Cases in 274 U.S.
### Buck v. Bell

In Buck v. Bell, 274 U.S. 200 (1927), the Supreme Court ruled that a state statute permitting compulsory sterilization of the unfit, including the intellectually disabled, "for the protection and health of the state" did not violate the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Despite the changing attitudes in the coming decades regarding sterilization, the Supreme Court has never expressly overturned Buck v. Bell. It was widely believed to have been slightly weakened by Skinner v. Oklahoma 316 U.S. 535 (1942), which involved compulsory sterilization of male habitual criminals (and came to a contrary result).

### Whitney v. California

In Whitney v. California, 274 U.S. 357 (1927), the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of a person who had engaged in speech that raised a threat to society. The question before the court was whether the 1919 Criminal Syndicalism Act of California violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses. The Court unanimously upheld Whitney's conviction; holding that the state, in exercise of its police power, has the power to punish those who abuse their rights to freedom of speech "by utterances inimical to the public welfare, tending to incite crime, disturb the public peace, or endanger the foundations of organized government and threaten its overthrow." In other words, words with a "bad tendency" can be punished.

### United States v. Lee

United States v. Lee, 274 U.S. 559 (1927), is a significant decision by the Supreme Court protecting prohibition laws. The Court held 1) the U.S. Coast Guard may seize, board, and search vessels beyond the U.S. territorial waters and the high seas 12 miles outward from the coast if probable cause exists to believe that the vessel and persons in it are violating U.S. revenue laws, and 2) the Coast Guard's use of searchlights to view contents of a vessel on the high seas does not constitute a search and thus does not warrant Fourth Amendment protections; the use of a searchlight is comparable to the use of binoculars, and the courts have long held that use of binoculars by law enforcement is not prohibited by the Constitution.

## 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.
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.
Bluebook citation style is used for case names, citations, and jurisdictions.
* "# Cir." = United States Court of Appeals
** e.g., "3d Cir." = United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
* "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.,"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 volume 274 U.S.

| Case Name | Page and year | Opinion of the Court | Concurring opinion(s) | Dissenting opinion(s) | Lower Court | Disposition |
| Fairmont Creamery Company v. Minnesota | 1 (1927) | McReynolds | none | none | Minn. | reversed |
| Ohio Public Service Company v. Ohio ex rel. Fritz | 12 (1927) | McReynolds | none | none | Ohio | reversed |
| Hodgson v. Federal Oil and Development Company | 15 (1927) | McReynolds | none | none | 8th Cir. | affirmed |
| Hoffman v. Missouri ex rel. Foraker | 21 (1927) | Brandeis | none | none | Mo. | affirmed |
| Lowe v. Dickson | 23 (1927) | Sutherland | none | none | Okla. | reversed |
| Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company v. United States | 29 (1927) | Sutherland | none | none | N.D. Tex. | affirmed |
| Bedford Cut Stone Company v. Journeymen Stone Cutters' Association of North America | 37 (1927) | Sutherland | Sanford; Stone | Brandeis | 7th Cir. | reversed |
| Northern Railroad Company v. Page | 65 (1927) | Butler | none | none | 1st Cir. | reversed |
| Southern Railroad Company v. Kentucky | 76 (1927) | Butler | none | Brandeis | Ky. | reversed |
| McDonald v. Maxwell | 91 (1927) | Sanford | none | none | D.C. Cir. | reversed |
| American National Company v. United States | 99 (1927) | Sanford | none | none | W.D. Okla. | reversed |
| United States ex rel. Norwegian Nitrogen Products Company v. United States Tariff Commission | 106 (1927) | Stone | none | none | D.C. Cir. | vacated |
| Louis Pizitz Dry Goods Company, Inc. v. Yeldell | 112 (1927) | Stone | none | none | Ala. | affirmed |
| New York Dock Company v. Steamship Poznan | 117 (1927) | Stone | none | none | 2d Cir. | reversed |
| Fidelity National Bank and Trust Company of Kansas City v. Swope | 123 (1927) | Stone | none | none | 8th Cir. | reversed |
| Morris v. Duby | 135 (1927) | Taft | none | none | D. Or. | affirmed |
| Federal Trade Commission v. Klesner | 145 (1927) | Taft | none | McReynolds | D.C. Cir. | reversed |
| Federal Trade Commission v. Claire Furnace Company | 160 (1927) | Taft | none | McReynolds | D.C. Cir. | reversed |
| Kadow v. Paul | 175 (1927) | Taft | none | none | Wash. | affirmed |
| Timken Roller Bearing Company v. Pennsylvania Railroad Company | 181 (1927) | Taft | none | none | N.D. Ohio | transfer to 6th Cir. |
| Road Improvement District No. 1 of Franklin County, Arkansas v. Missouri Pacific Railroad Company | 188 (1927) | VanDevanter | none | none | 8th Cir. | affirmed |
| Duignan v. United States | 195 (1927) | Stone | none | none | 2d Cir. | affirmed |
| Buck v. Bell | 200 (1927) | Holmes | none | none | Va. | affirmed |
| Burnrite Coal Briquette Company v. Riggs | 208 (1927) | Brandeis | none | none | 3d Cir. | affirmed |
| Liggett and Myers Tobacco Company v. United States | 215 (1927) | Butler | none | none | Ct. Cl. | reversed |
| Kercheval v. United States | 220 (1927) | Butler | none | none | 8th Cir. | reversed |
| United States v. Stone and Downer Company | 225 (1927) | Taft | none | McReynolds | Ct. Cust. App. | reversed |
| Zimmermann v. Sutherland | 253 (1927) | Holmes | none | none | 2d Cir. | affirmed |
| Westfall v. United States | 256 (1927) | Holmes | none | none | 6th Cir. | certification |
| United States v. Sullivan | 259 (1927) | Holmes | none | none | 4th Cir. | reversed |
| United States v. Alford | 264 (1927) | Holmes | none | none | N.D. Fla. | reversed |
| United States v. Sisal Sales Corporation | 268 (1927) | McReynolds | none | none | S.D.N.Y. | reversed |
| Deal v. United States | 277 (1927) | McReynolds | none | none | 9th Cir. | reversed |
| Hope Natural Gas Company v. Hall | 284 (1927) | McReynolds | none | none | W. Va. | affirmed |
| Alston v. United States | 289 (1927) | McReynolds | none | none | 8th Cir. | affirmed |
| United States v. Ludey | 295 (1927) | Brandeis | none | none | Ct. Cl. | reversed |
| St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad Company v. Spiller | 304 (1927) | Brandeis | none | none | 8th Cir. | multiple |
| Baltimore Steamship Company v. Phillips | 316 (1927) | Sutherland | none | none | 2d Cir. | reversed |
| Zahn v. Board of Public Works of the City of Los Angeles | 325 (1927) | Sutherland | none | none | Cal. | affirmed |
| Burns v. United States | 328 (1927) | Butler | none | Brandeis | N.D. Cal. | affirmed |
| Phelps v. United States | 341 (1927) | Butler | none | none | Ct. Cl. | reversed |
| Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company v. Public Utilities Commission of Idaho | 344 (1927) | Butler | none | none | Idaho | reversed |
| Hess v. Pawloski | 352 (1927) | Butler | none | none | Mass. Super. Ct. | affirmed |
| Whitney v. California | 357 (1927) | Sanford | Brandeis | none | Cal. Ct. App. | affirmed |
| Fiske v. Kansas | 380 (1927) | Sanford | none | none | Kan. | reversed |
| Fort Smith Light and Traction Company v. Board of Improvement of Paving District No. 16 of Fort Smith | 387 (1927) | Stone | none | none | Ark. | affirmed |
| Ohio ex rel. Clarke v. Deckebach | 392 (1927) | Stone | none | none | Ohio | affirmed |
| United States v. S.S. White Dental Manufacturing Company | 398 (1927) | Stone | none | none | Ct. Cl. | affirmed |
| Seeman v. Philadelphia Warehouse Company | 403 (1927) | Stone | none | none | 2d Cir. | affirmed |
| Posados v. City of Manila | 410 (1927) | Taft | none | none | Phil | affirmed |
| Overland Motor Company v. Packard Motor Company | 417 (1927) | Taft | none | none | 7th Cir. | certification |
| Messel v. Foundation Company | 427 (1927) | Taft | none | none | La. | reversed |
| Rhea v. Smith | 434 (1927) | Taft | none | none | Mo. | reversed |
| Cline v. Frink Dairy Company | 445 (1927) | Taft | none | none | D. Colo. | multiple |
| United States v. Freights of Steamship Mount Shasta | 466 (1927) | Holmes | none | McReynolds | D. Mass. | reversed |
| Empire Trust Company v. Cahan | 473 (1927) | Holmes | none | none | 2d Cir. | reversed |
| Biddle v. Perovich | 480 (1927) | Holmes | none | none | 8th Cir. | certification |
| New York v. Illinois and Sanitary District of Chicago | 488 (1927) | VanDevanter | none | none | original | motion to strike granted |
| Power Manufacturing Company v. Saunders | 490 (1927) | VanDevanter | none | Holmes | Ark. | reversed |
| Longest v. Langford | 499 (1927) | VanDevanter | none | none | Okla. | dismissed |
| Maul v. United States | 501 (1927) | VanDevanter | Brandeis | none | 2d Cir. | affirmed |
| Nichols v. Coolidge | 531 (1927) | McReynolds | none | none | D. Mass. | affirmed |
| Federal Trade Commission v. American Tobacco Company | 543 (1927) | McReynolds | none | none | 2d Cir. | affirmed |
| Joines v. Patterson | 544 (1927) | McReynolds | none | none | Okla. | reversed |
| Clark v. Poor | 554 (1927) | Brandeis | none | none | S.D. Ohio | affirmed |
| United States v. Lee | 559 (1927) | Brandeis | none | none | 1st Cir. | reversed |
| Assigned Car Cases | 564 (1927) | Brandeis | none | McReynolds | E.D. Pa. | reversed |
| Lawrence v. St. Louis–San Francisco Railway Company | 588 (1927) | Brandeis | none | none | N.D. Okla. | reversed |
| Arkansas Railroad Commission v. Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company | 597 (1927) | Brandeis | none | none | E.D. Ark. | reversed |
| Gorieb v. Fox | 603 (1927) | Sutherland | none | none | Va. | affirmed |
| Merritt and Chapman Derrick and Wrecking Company v. United States | 611 (1927) | Butler | none | none | S.D.N.Y. | affirmed |
| Stewart and Company v. Rivara | 614 (1927) | Butler | none | none | N.Y. Sup. Ct. | affirmed |
| Federal Trade Commission v. Eastman Kodak Company | 619 (1927) | Sanford | none | Stone | 2d Cir. | affirmed |
| Portneuf-Marsh Valley Canal Company v. Brown | 630 (1927) | Stone | none | none | 9th Cir. | affirmed |
| Independent Coal and Coke Company v. United States | 640 (1927) | Stone | none | none | 8th Cir. | affirmed |
| Fox River Paper Company v. Railroad Commission of Wisconsin | 651 (1927) | Stone | none | none | Wis. | affirmed |
| Weedin v. Chin Bow | 657 (1927) | Taft | none | none | 9th Cir. | reversed |
| City of Vidalia v. McNeely | 676 (1927) | VanDevanter | none | none | W.D. La. | affirmed |
| Twist v. Prairie Oil and Gas Company | 684 (1927) | Brandeis | none | none | 8th Cir. | reversed |
| United States v. International Harvester Company | 693 (1927) | Sanford | none | none | D. Minn. | affirmed |