# List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 138

This is a list of cases reported in volume 138 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1891.

## Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 138 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 138 U.S. were decided the Court comprised the following nine members:
| Justice | Office | Home State | Succeeded | Date confirmed by the Senate (Vote) | Tenure on Supreme Court |
| Melville Fuller | Chief Justice | Illinois | Morrison Waite | July 20, 1888 (41–20) | October 8, 1888 – July 4, 1910 (Died) |
| Stephen Johnson Field | Associate Justice | California | newly created seat | March 10, 1863 (Acclamation) | May 10, 1863 – December 1, 1897 (Retired) |
| Joseph P. Bradley | Associate Justice | New Jersey | newly created seat | March 21, 1870 (46–9) | March 23, 1870 – January 22, 1892 (Died) |
| John Marshall Harlan | Associate Justice | Kentucky | David Davis | November 29, 1877 (Acclamation) | December 10, 1877 – October 14, 1911 (Died) |
| Horace Gray | Associate Justice | Massachusetts | Nathan Clifford | December 20, 1881 (51–5) | January 9, 1882 – September 15, 1902 (Died) |
| Samuel Blatchford | Associate Justice | New York | Ward Hunt | March 22, 1882 (Acclamation) | April 3, 1882 – July 7, 1893 (Died) |
| Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar | Associate Justice | Mississippi | William Burnham Woods | January 16, 1888 (32–28) | January 18, 1888 – January 23, 1893 (Died) |
| David Josiah Brewer | Associate Justice | Kansas | Stanley Matthews | December 18, 1889 (53–11) | January 6, 1890 – March 28, 1910 (Died) |
| Henry Billings Brown | Associate Justice | Michigan | Samuel Freeman Miller | December 29, 1890 (Acclamation) | January 5, 1891 – May 28, 1906 (Retired) |

## 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. The change resulted in an immediate reduction in the Supreme Court's workload (from 623 cases filed in 1890 to 379 in 1891 and 275 in 1892).
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
* "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 volume 138 U.S.

| Case Name | Page and year | Opinion of the Court | Concurring opinion(s) | Dissenting opinion(s) | Lower Court | Disposition |
| Joy v. City of St. Louis | 1 (1891) | Blatchford | none | none | C.C.E.D. Mo. | affirmed |
| Butler v. Gage | 52 (1891) | Fuller | none | none | Colo. | dismissed |
| United States v. Connor | 61 (1891) | Brewer | none | none | Ct. Cl. | reversed |
| Pleasant Township v. Aetna Life Insurance Company | 67 (1891) | Brewer | none | none | C.C.N.D. Ohio | reversed |
| Brimmer v. Rebman | 78 (1891) | Harlan | none | none | C.C.E.D. Va. | affirmed |
| United States v. Central Pacific Railroad Company | 84 (1891) | Bradley | none | none | Ct. Cl. | reversed |
| United States v. Kingsley | 87 (1891) | Brown | none | none | Ct. Cl. | reversed |
| City of Superior v. Ripley | 93 (1891) | Brown | none | none | C.C.D. Neb. | affirmed |
| Sioux City St. Railway Company v. City of Sioux City | 98 (1891) | Blatchford | none | none | Iowa | affirmed |
| Reagan v. Aiken | 109 (1891) | Brewer | none | none | C.C.E.D. Tex. | affirmed |
| Bent v. Thompson | 114 (1891) | Blatchford | none | none | Sup. Ct. Terr. N.M. | affirmed |
| Consolidated Roller Mill Company v. Walker | 124 (1891) | Blatchford | none | none | C.C.W.D. Pa. | affirmed |
| Tubbs v. Wilhoit | 134 (1891) | Field | none | none | Cal. | affirmed |
| Whitehead v. Shattuck | 146 (1891) | Field | none | none | C.C.N.D. Iowa | affirmed |
| Cook v. United States | 157 (1891) | Harlan | none | none | C.C.E.D. Tex. | reversed |
| Chicago, Santa Fe and California Railroad Company v. Price, McGavock and Company | 185 (1891) | Harlan | none | none | C.C.N.D. Ill. | affirmed |
| Coburn v. Cedar Valley Land and Cattle Company, Ltd. | 196 (1891) | Fuller | none | none | C.C.W.D. Mo. | affirmed |
| Miller v. Clark | 223 (1891) | Blatchford | none | none | C.C.D. Conn. | dismissed |
| City of St. Louis v. Rutz | 226 (1891) | Blatchford | none | none | C.C.S.D. Ill. | affirmed |
| Waterman v. Mackenzie | 252 (1891) | Gray | none | none | C.C.S.D.N.Y. | affirmed |
| Beardsley v. Beardsley | 262 (1891) | Brewer | none | none | C.C.E.D. Ark. | affirmed |
| North v. Peters | 271 (1891) | Lamar | none | none | Sup. Ct. Terr. Dakota | affirmed |
| Kaufman v. Wooters | 285 (1891) | Harlan | none | none | Tex. | affirmed |
| Wheeling and Belmont Bridge Company v. Wheeling Bridge Company | 287 (1891) | Field | none | none | Va. | affirmed |
| United States v. Green | 293 (1891) | Fuller | none | none | Ct. Cl. | reversed |
| Kansas City, Fort Scott and Memphis Railroad Company v. Daughtry | 298 (1891) | Fuller | none | none | Tenn. | affirmed |
| Ames v. Moir and Company | 306 (1891) | Harlan | none | none | Ill. | affirmed |
| United States Mortgage Company v. Sperry | 313 (1891) | Harlan | none | none | C.C.N.D. Ill. | reversed |
| Alexander v. United States | 353 (1891) | Brown | none | none | C.C.W.D. Ark. | reversed |
| Crumpton v. United States | 361 (1891) | Brown | none | none | C.C.W.D. Ark. | affirmed |
| Upshur v. Briscoe | 365 (1891) | Blatchford | none | none | La. | affirmed |
| Wadsworth v. Adams | 380 (1891) | Harlan | none | none | C.C.N.D. Ala. | reversed |
| Brown v. Trousdale | 389 (1891) | Fuller | none | none | C.C.D. Ky. | reversed |
| Beaupre, Keogh and Company v. Noyes Brothers and Cutler | 397 (1891) | Harlan | none | none | Minn. | affirmed |
| Cheney v. Hughes | 403 (1891) | Fuller | none | none | C.C.D. Neb. | withdrawal of transcript denied |
| In re Cooper | 404 (1891) | Fuller | none | none | D. Alaska | prohibition granted |
| Central Trust Company v. Kneeland | 414 (1891) | Brewer | none | none | C.C.N.D. Ohio | affirmed |
| Russell v. Post | 425 (1891) | Brewer | none | none | C.C.S.D.N.Y. | reversed |
| Case Manufacturing Company v. Soxman | 431 (1891) | Brewer | none | none | C.C.W.D. Pa. | affirmed |
| Simmons v. Saul | 439 (1891) | Lamar | none | none | C.C.E.D. Pa. | affirmed |
| In re Graham | 461 (1891) | Field | none | none | Wis. | affirmed |
| Clay v. Field | 464 (1891) | Bradley | none | none | C.C.N.D. Miss. | multiple |
| Bunt v. Sierra Butte Gold Mining Company | 483 (1891) | Gray | none | none | C.C.N.D. Cal. | affirmed |
| Hanner v. Moulton | 486 (1891) | Blatchford | none | none | C.C.N.D. Tex. | affirmed |
| Missouri ex rel. Carey v. Andriano | 496 (1891) | Brown | none | none | Mo. | dismissed |
| Louisville, Evansville and St. Louis Railroad Company v. Wilson | 501 (1891) | Brewer | none | none | C.C.S.D. Ill. | reversed |
| Kneeland v. American Loan and Trust Company | 509 (1891) | Brewer | none | none | C.C.D. Ind. | multiple |
| Williams v. United States | 514 (1891) | Brewer | none | none | C.C.D. Nev. | affirmed |
| Cressey v. Meyer | 525 (1891) | Brewer | none | none | C.C.E.D. La. | affirmed |
| Barney v. Oelrichs | 529 (1891) | Fuller | none | none | C.C.S.D.N.Y. | reversed |
| Lawrence Manufacturing Company v. Tennessee Manufacturing Company | 537 (1891) | Fuller | none | none | C.C.M.D. Tenn. | affirmed |
| Lawrence Manufacturing Company v. Janesville Cotton Mills | 552 (1891) | Fuller | none | none | C.C.W.D. Wis. | affirmed |
| Schell's Executors v. Fauché | 562 (1891) | Brown | none | none | C.C.S.D.N.Y. | affirmed |
| Heath v. Wallace | 573 (1891) | Lamar | none | none | Cal. | affirmed |
| Ducie v. Ford | 587 (1891) | Brown | none | none | Sup. Ct. Terr. Mont. | affirmed |
| City of New Orleans v. Gaines's Administrator | 595 (1891) | Bradley | none | none | C.C.E.D. La. | decree modified |
| Troy Laundry Machinery Company v. Dolph | 617 (1891) | Brewer | none | none | C.C.N.D.N.Y. | reversed |
| Gormley v. Bunyan | 623 (1891) | Lamar | none | none | C.C.N.D. Ill. | affirmed |
| Cook County v. Calumet and Chicago Canal and Dock Company | 635 (1891) | Fuller | none | none | Ill. | dismissed |
| City of San Francisco v. LeRoy | 656 (1891) | Field | none | none | C.C.N.D. Cal. | affirmed |
| Merrill v. Town of Monticello | 673 (1891) | Lamar | none | none | C.C.D. Ind. | affirmed |
| Anderson v. Watt | 694 (1891) | Fuller | none | none | C.C.N.D. Fla. | reversed |