# List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 208

This is a list of cases reported in volume 208 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1908.

## Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 208 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 208 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) |
| John Marshall Harlan | Associate Justice | Kentucky | David Davis | November 29, 1877 (Acclamation) | December 10, 1877 – October 14, 1911 (Died) |
| David Josiah Brewer | Associate Justice | Kansas | Stanley Matthews | December 18, 1889 (53–11) | January 6, 1890 – March 28, 1910 (Died) |
| Edward Douglass White | Associate Justice | Louisiana | Samuel Blatchford | February 19, 1894 (Acclamation) | March 12, 1894 – December 18, 1910 (Continued as chief justice) |
| Rufus W. Peckham | Associate Justice | New York | Howell Edmunds Jackson | December 9, 1895 (Acclamation) | January 6, 1896 – October 24, 1909 (Died) |
| Joseph McKenna | Associate Justice | California | Stephen Johnson Field | January 21, 1898 (Acclamation) | January 26, 1898 – January 5, 1925 (Retired) |
| Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. | Associate Justice | Massachusetts | Horace Gray | December 4, 1902 (Acclamation) | December 8, 1902 – January 12, 1932 (Retired) |
| William R. Day | Associate Justice | Ohio | George Shiras Jr. | February 23, 1903 (Acclamation) | March 2, 1903 – November 13, 1922 (Retired) |
| William Henry Moody | Associate Justice | Massachusetts | Henry Billings Brown | December 12, 1906 (Acclamation) | December 17, 1906 – November 20, 1910 (Retired) |

## Notable Cases in 208 U.S.
### Adair v. United States

Adair v. United States, 208 U.S. 161 (1908), was a United States labor law case in which the Supreme Court declared that bans on "yellow-dog" contracts (that forbade workers from joining labor unions) were unconstitutional. The decision reaffirmed the doctrine of freedom of contract which was first recognized by the Court in Allgeyer v. Louisiana (1897). For this reason, Adair is often seen as defining what has come to be known as the Lochner era, a period in American legal history in which the Supreme Court tended to invalidate legislation aimed at regulating business.

### Loewe v. Lawlor

Loewe v. Lawlor, 208 U.S. 274 (1908), also called the Danbury Hatters' Case, is a Supreme Court case in United States labor law concerning the application of antitrust laws to labor unions. The Court's decision effectively outlawed the secondary boycott as a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act, despite union arguments that their actions affected only intrastate commerce. It was also decided that individual unionists could be held personally liable for damages incurred by the activities of their union.

### Muller v. Oregon

In Muller v. Oregon, 208 U.S. 412 (1908), the Supreme Court upheld the general police powers of a state to protect the welfare of women even when it infringed on her fundamental right to negotiate contracts. Inequality, the Court said, was not a deciding factor because the sexes were inherently different in their particular conditions and had completely different functions; labor laws that were made to nurture women's welfare and for the "benefit of all" people were held not to be a violation of the Constitution's Contract Clause.

## 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.
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 208 U.S.

| Case Name | Page and year | Opinion of the Court | Concurring opinion(s) | Dissenting opinion(s) | Lower Court | Disposition |
| Carrington v. United States | 1 (1908) | Holmes | none | none | Phil. | reversed |
| Chin Yow v. United States | 8 (1908) | Holmes | none | none | N.D. Cal. | reversed |
| New York ex rel. E. and J. Burke, Ltd. v. Wells | 14 (1908) | Day | none | none | N.Y. Sup. Ct. | affirmed |
| Yosemite Gold Mining and Milling Company v. Emerson | 25 (1908) | Day | none | none | Cal. | affirmed |
| United States v. Miller | 32 (1908) | Day | none | none | Ct. Cl. | affirmed |
| Wabash Railroad Co. v. Adelbert College of Western Reserve University I | 38 (1908) | Moody | none | none | Ohio | reversed |
| Winslow v. Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company | 59 (1908) | Moody | none | none | D.C. Cir. | affirmed |
| Bluthenthal v. Jones | 64 (1908) | Moody | none | none | Fla. | affirmed |
| Prosser v. Finn | 67 (1908) | Harlan | none | none | Wash. | affirmed |
| Blacklock v. United States | 75 (1908) | Harlan | none | none | Ct. Cl. | affirmed |
| In re Metropolitan Railway Receivership | 90 (1908) | Peckham | none | none | 2d Cir. | mandamus denied |
| I.M. Darnell and Son Company v. City of Memphis | 113 (1908) | White | none | none | Tenn. | reversed |
| Southern Pine Lumber Company v. Ward | 126 (1908) | White | none | none | Sup. Ct. Terr. Okla. | affirmed |
| Ex parte Simon | 144 (1908) | Holmes | none | none | C.C.D. (unspecified) | habeas corpus denied |
| Houghton v. Meyer | 149 (1908) | Day | none | none | D.C. Cir. | affirmed |
| Adair v. United States | 161 (1908) | Harlan | none | McKenna; Holmes | E.D. Ky. | reversed |
| Braxton County v. West Virginia ex rel. Tax Commissioners | 192 (1908) | Brewer | none | none | W. Va. | dismissed |
| United States v. Graf Distilling Company | 198 (1908) | Peckham | none | none | 8th Cir. | certification |
| Penn Refining Company, Ltd. v. Western New York and Pennsylvania Railroad Company | 208 (1908) | Peckham | none | Moody | 3d Cir. | affirmed |
| Elder v. Wood | 226 (1908) | Moody | none | none | Colo. | affirmed |
| Missouri Valley Land Company v. Wiese | 234 (1908) | White | none | none | Neb. | affirmed |
| Missouri Valley Land Company v. Wrich | 250 (1908) | White | none | none | Neb. | affirmed |
| Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad Company v. Doughty | 251 (1908) | McKenna | none | none | N.D. | affirmed |
| United Dictionary Company v. G. and C. Merriam Company | 260 (1908) | Holmes | none | none | 7th Cir. | affirmed |
| Donnell v. Herring Hall Marvin Safe Company | 267 (1908) | Holmes | none | none | 7th Cir. | reversed |
| Loewe v. Lawlor | 274 (1908) | Fuller | none | none | 2d Cir. | reversed |
| Lewis v. Herrera | 309 (1908) | Fuller | none | none | Ariz. | affirmed |
| Cleveland Terminal and Valley Railroad Company v. Cleveland Steamship Company | 316 (1908) | Fuller | none | none | N.D. Ohio | affirmed |
| The Troy | 321 (1908) | Fuller | none | none | W.D. Wis. | affirmed |
| Armstrong v. Fernandez | 324 (1908) | Fuller | none | none | D.P.R. | affirmed |
| United States v. Larkin | 333 (1908) | Fuller | none | none | N.D. Ohio | dismissed |
| Dick v. United States | 340 (1908) | Harlan | none | none | D. Idaho | affirmed |
| Atlantic Trust Company v. Chapman | 360 (1908) | Harlan | none | none | 9th Cir. | reversed |
| Cosmopolitan Club v. Virginia | 378 (1908) | Harlan | none | none | Va. | affirmed |
| Bassing v. Cady | 386 (1908) | Harlan | none | none | R.I. Super. Ct. | affirmed |
| United States v. Bitty | 393 (1908) | Harlan | none | none | C.C.S.D.N.Y. | reversed |
| Henningsen v. United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company of Baltimore | 404 (1908) | Brewer | none | none | 9th Cir. | affirmed |
| Muller v. Oregon | 412 (1908) | Brewer | none | none | Or. | affirmed |
| Bien v. Robinson | 423 (1908) | White | none | none | C.C.S.D.N.Y. | dismissed |
| Notley v. Brown | 429 (1908) | White | none | none | Sup. Ct. Terr. Haw. | dismissed |
| Calvo v. De Gutierrez | 443 (1908) | White | none | none | Phil. | affirmed |
| Great Northern Railroad Company v. United States | 452 (1908) | White | none | none | 8th Cir. | affirmed |
| Phillips v. Mobile | 472 (1908) | Peckham | none | none | Ala. | affirmed |
| Richard v. Mobile | 480 (1908) | Peckham | none | none | C.C.S.D. Ala. | affirmed |
| Ughbanks v. Armstrong | 481 (1908) | Peckham | none | none | Mich. | affirmed |
| Jetton v. University of the South | 489 (1908) | Peckham | none | none | C.C.M.D. Tenn. | reversed |
| Bennett v. Bennett | 505 (1908) | McKenna | none | none | Sup. Ct. Terr. Okla. | affirmed |
| Crary v. Dye | 515 (1908) | McKenna | none | none | Sup. Ct. Terr. N.M. | affirmed |
| Starr v. Campbell | 527 (1908) | McKenna | none | none | C.C.W.D. Wis. | affirmed |
| Drumm Flato Commission Company v. Edmisson | 534 (1908) | McKenna | none | none | Sup. Ct. Terr. Okla. | affirmed |
| Rankin v. City National Bank | 541 (1908) | Holmes | none | none | 8th Cir. | affirmed |
| First National Bank v. Albright | 548 (1908) | Holmes | none | none | Sup. Ct. Terr. N.M. | affirmed |
| Herring Hall Marvin Safe Company v. Hall's Safe Company | 554 (1908) | Holmes | none | none | 6th Cir. | affirmed |
| United States v. Sisseton and Wahpeton Bands | 561 (1908) | Holmes | none | none | Ct. Cl. | affirmed |
| Disconto GmbH v. Umbreit | 570 (1908) | Day | none | none | Wis. Cir. Ct. | affirmed |
| Northern Pacific Railroad Company v. Minnesota ex rel. City of Duluth | 583 (1908) | Day | none | none | Minn. | affirmed |
| Hairston v. Danville and Western Railroad Company | 598 (1908) | Moody | none | none | Va. | affirmed |
| Wabash Railroad Co. v. Adelbert College of Western Reserve University II | 609 (1908) | Moody | none | none | Ohio | rehearing denied |