# List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 281

This is a list of cases reported in volume 281 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1930.

## Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 281 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 281 were decided the Court comprised the following members (Chief Justice Taft retired in February 1930, and former Associate Justice Charles Evans Hughes rejoined the Court as Chief Justice the same month):
| 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) |
| Charles Evans Hughes | Chief Justice | New York | William Howard Taft | February 13, 1930 (52–26) | February 24, 1930 – June 30, 1941 (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) |

## 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 281 U.S.

| Case name | Citation | Opinion of the Court | Vote | Concurring opinion or statement | Dissenting opinion or statement | Procedural jurisdiction | Result |
| Kansas City Southern Railroad Company v. Guardian Trust Company | 281 U.S. 1 (1930) | Butler | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (8th Cir.) | decree reversed |
| Lucas, Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. North Texas Lumber Company | 281 U.S. 11 (1930) | Butler | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (5th Cir.) | judgment reversed |
| Chicago and North Western Railway Company v. Lindell | 281 U.S. 14 (1930) | Butler | 9-0 | none | none | certified question from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (9th Cir.) | certified question answered |
| Moore, Treasurer of Grant County, Indiana v. Mitchell | 281 U.S. 18 (1930) | Butler | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | decree affirmed |
| District of Columbia v. Thompson | 281 U.S. 25 (1930) | Sanford | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Cir.) | judgment affirmed |
| United States Fidelity and Guaranty Company v. Guenther | 281 U.S. 34 (1930) | Sanford | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (6th Cir.) | judgment reversed |
| Lindgren v. United States | 281 U.S. 38 (1930) | Sanford | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Cir.) | decree affirmed |
| District of Columbia v. Fred | 281 U.S. 49 (1930) | Stone | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Cir.) | judgment reversed |
| Collie v. Fergusson | 281 U.S. 52 (1930) | Stone | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Cir.) | decree affirmed as modified |
| Illinois Central Railroad Company v. Crail | 281 U.S. 57 (1930) | Stone | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (8th Cir.) | judgment reversed |
| Carley and Hamilton, Inc. v. Snook | 281 U.S. 66 (1930) | Stone | 9-0 | none | none | appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (N.D. Cal.) | judgments affirmed |
| Ohio ex rel. Bryant v. Akron Metropolitan Park District | 281 U.S. 74 (1930) | Hughes | 9-0 | none | none | appeals from the Ohio Supreme Court (Ohio) | judgments affirmed |
| Railroad Commission of Wisconsin v. Maxcy | 281 U.S. 82 (1930) | per curiam | 9-0 | none | none | appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin (W.D. Wis.) | decree set aside |
| Early v. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond | 281 U.S. 84 (1930) | Holmes | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Cir.) | judgment affirmed |
| Gunning v. Cooley | 281 U.S. 90 (1930) | Butler | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Cir.) | judgment affirmed |
| Staten Island Rapid Transit Railroad Company v. Phoenix Indemnity Company | 281 U.S. 98 (1930) | Hughes | 9-0 | none | none | appeal from the New York Supreme Court (N.Y. Sup. Ct.) | judgment affirmed |
| Oklahoma v. Texas | 281 U.S. 109 (1930) | per curiam | 9-0 | none | none | original | boundary set |
| Lucas, Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Earl | 281 U.S. 111 (1930) | Holmes | 8-0[a] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (9th Cir.) | judgment reversed |
| Lucas, Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Ox Fibre Brush Company | 281 U.S. 115 (1930) | Hughes | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Cir.) | judgment affirmed |
| Henrietta Mills v. Rutherford County | 281 U.S. 121 (1930) | Hughes | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Cir.) | decree affirmed without prejudice to proceedings at law |
| Nogueira v. New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company | 281 U.S. 128 (1930) | Hughes | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | judgment affirmed |
| United States v. Unzeuta | 281 U.S. 138 (1930) | Hughes | 9-0 | none | none | appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska (D. Neb.) | judgment reversed |
| Ohio Oil Company v. Conway, Supervisor of Public Accounts of Louisiana | 281 U.S. 146 (1930) | Hughes | 9-0 | none | none | appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (E.D. La.) | judgment affirmed |
| Kentucky v. Indiana | 281 U.S. 163 (1930) | Hughes | 9-0 | none | none | original | dismissed as to individual defendants; decree for Kentucky against Indiana |
| Wisconsin v. Illinois | 281 U.S. 179 (1930) | Holmes | 8-0[a] | none | none | original | injunction against Illinois |
| United States v. Adams | 281 U.S. 202 (1930) | Holmes | 9-0 | none | none | appeals from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas (E.D. Ark.) | judgment affirmed in one case; judgment reversed in one case |
| Wilbur, Secretary of the Interior v. United States ex rel. Kadrie | 281 U.S. 206 (1930) | VanDevanter | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Cir.) | judgment reversed |
| John Baizley Iron Works v. Span | 281 U.S. 222 (1930) | McReynolds | 6-3 | none | Stone (opinion; with which Holmes and Brandeis concurred) | appeal from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court (Pa.) | judgment reversed |
| Employers' Liability Assurance Corporation v. Cook | 281 U.S. 233 (1930) | McReynolds | 6-3 | none | Stone (opinion; with which Holmes and Brandeis concurred) | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (5th Cir.) | judgment reversed, and cause remanded |
| May v. Heiner, Collector of Internal Revenue | 281 U.S. 238 (1930) | McReynolds | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (3d Cir.) | judgment reversed, and cause remanded |
| Lucas, Collector of Internal Revenue v. Pilliod Lumber Company | 281 U.S. 245 (1930) | McReynolds | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (6th Cir.) | judgment reversed |
| Alexander Sprunt and Son, Inc. v. United States | 281 U.S. 249 (1930) | Brandeis | 8-0[a] | none | none | appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (S.D. Tex. ) | decree reversed with direction to dismiss |
| Miller v. McLaughlin, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture of Nebraska | 281 U.S. 261 (1930) | Brandeis | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the Nebraska Supreme Court (Neb.) | judgment affirmed |
| Lucas, Commissioner of Internal Revenue v. Kansas City Structural Steel Company | 281 U.S. 264 (1930) | Brandeis | 8-0[a] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (8th Cir.) | judgment reversed |
| Meadows v. United States | 281 U.S. 271 (1930) | Sutherland | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (8th Cir.) | judgment affirmed |
| Patton v. United States | 281 U.S. 276 (1930) | Sutherland | 8-0[a] | Holmes, Brandeis, and Stone (without opinions) | none | certified question from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (8th Cir.) | certified question answered |
| Missouri ex rel. Missouri Insurance Company v. Gehner, Assessor of the City of St. Louis | 281 U.S. 313 (1930) | Butler | 6-3 | Hughes (short statement) | Stone (opinion; with which Holmes and Brandeis concurred) | appeal from the Missouri Supreme Court (Mo.) | judgment reversed |
| National Fire Insurance Company of Hartford v. Thompson, Superintendent of the Insurance Department of Missouri | 281 U.S. 331 (1930) | Butler | 9-0 | none | none | appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri (W.D. Mo.) | decree affirmed |
| United States v. Worley | 281 U.S. 339 (1930) | Butler | 9-0 | none | none | certified questions from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (8th Cir.) | certified questions answered |
| Jackson v. United States | 281 U.S. 344 (1930) | Butler | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (10th Cir.) | judgment affirmed |
| New York Central Railroad Company v. Marcone | 281 U.S. 345 (1930) | Stone | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals (N.J.) | judgment affirmed |
| Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Company v. Toops | 281 U.S. 351 (1930) | Stone | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the Kansas Supreme Court (Kan.) | judgment reversed |
| Niles Bement Pond Company v. United States | 281 U.S. 357 (1930) | Stone | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Claims (Ct. Cl.) | judgment affirmed |
| Dohany v. Rogers, State Highway Commissioner of Michigan | 281 U.S. 362 (1930) | Stone | 9-0 | none | none | appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (E.D. Mich.) | decree affirmed |
| Cochran v. Louisiana Board of Education | 281 U.S. 370 (1930) | Hughes | 9-0 | none | none | appeal from the Louisiana Supreme Court (La.) | judgment affirmed |
| Corliss v. Bowers, Collector of Internal Revenue | 281 U.S. 376 (1930) | Holmes | 8-0[a] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | judgment affirmed |
| Escher v. Woods, Treasurer of the United States | 281 U.S. 379 (1930) | Holmes | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Cir.) | decree reversed |
| Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company v. United States | 281 U.S. 385 (1930) | Holmes | 8-0[b] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Claims (Ct. Cl.) | judgment affirmed |
| Danovitz v. United States | 281 U.S. 389 (1930) | Holmes | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (3d Cir.) | decree affirmed |
| Home Insurance Company v. Dick | 281 U.S. 397 (1930) | Brandeis | 9-0 | none | none | appeal from the Texas Supreme Court (Tex.) | judgment reversed |
| Board of Railroad Commissioners of North Dakota v. Great Northern Railroad Company | 281 U.S. 412 (1930) | Hughes | 9-0 | none | none | appeal from the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota (D.N.D.) | order reversed, and cause remanded |
| Corporation Commission of Oklahoma v. Lowe | 281 U.S. 431 (1930) | Hughes | 9-0 | none | none | appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma (W.D. Okla.) | decree reversed, and cause remanded |
| City of Cincinnati v. Vester | 281 U.S. 439 (1930) | Hughes | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (6th Cir.) | decrees affirmed |
| Todok v. Union State Bank of Harvard | 281 U.S. 449 (1930) | Hughes | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the Nebraska Supreme Court (Neb.) | judgment reversed |
| Eliason v. Wilborn | 281 U.S. 457 (1930) | Holmes | 9-0 | none | none | appeal from the Illinois Supreme Court (Ill.) | decree affirmed |
| Barker Painting Company v. Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America | 281 U.S. 462 (1930) | Holmes | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (3d Cir.) | decree affirmed |
| Federal Radio Commission v. General Electric Company | 281 U.S. 464 (1930) | VanDevanter | 8-0[a] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Cir.) | writ of certiorari dismissed |
| Grubb v. Public Utilities Commission of Ohio | 281 U.S. 470 (1930) | VanDevanter | 9-0 | none | none | appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (S.D. Ohio) | decree affirmed |
| Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railway Company v. United States | 281 U.S. 479 (1930) | Brandeis | 9-0 | none | none | appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (N.D. Ohio) | decree affirmed |
| United States v. Updike | 281 U.S. 489 (1930) | Sutherland | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (8th Cir.) | decree affirmed |
| Tyler v. United States | 281 U.S. 497 (1930) | Sutherland | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Cir.), and to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (3d Cir.) | one judgment affirmed, two judgments reversed |
| Georgia Power Company v. City of Decatur | 281 U.S. 505 (1930) | Butler | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the Georgia Supreme Court (Ga.) | decree affirmed |
| Western Cartridge Company v. Emmerson, Secretary of State of Illinois | 281 U.S. 511 (1930) | Butler | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the Illinois Supreme Court (Ill.) | decree affirmed |
| Charter Shipping Company v. Bowring, Jones and Tidy, Ltd. | 281 U.S. 515 (1930) | Stone | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | judgment reversed |
| United States Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation v. Harwood | 281 U.S. 519 (1930) | Stone | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | judgment affirmed |
| Richbourg Motor Company v. United States | 281 U.S. 528 (1930) | Stone | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (4th Cir.), and to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (9th Cir.) | judgment reversed |
| Broad River Power Company v. South Carolina ex rel. Daniel | 281 U.S. 537 (1930) | Stone | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the South Carolina Supreme Court (S.C.) | dismissed |
| Texas and New Orleans Railroad Company v. Brotherhood of Railway and Steamship Clerks | 281 U.S. 548 (1930) | Hughes | 8-0[c] | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (5th Cir.) | decree affirmed |
| Wheeler Lumber Bridge and Supply Company v. United States | 281 U.S. 572 (1930) | VanDevanter | 9-0 | none | none | certified question from the United States Court of Claims (Ct. Cl.) | certified question answered |
| Universal Battery Company v. United States | 281 U.S. 580 (1930) | VanDevanter | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Claims (Ct. Cl.) | three judgments affirmed; two judgments reversed and remanded |
| Baldwin v. Missouri | 281 U.S. 586 (1930) | McReynolds | 6-3 | none | Holmes (opinion; with which Brandeis and Stone agreed); Stone (opinion; joined by Holmes and Brandeis) | appeal from the Missouri Supreme Court (Mo.) | judgment reversed, and cause remanded |
| Campbell, Federal Prohibition Administrator v. Galeno Chemical Company | 281 U.S. 599 (1930) | Brandeis | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | judgment affirmed |
| Campbell, Federal Prohibition Administrator v. W.H. Long and Company | 281 U.S. 610 (1930) | Brandeis | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.), and to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (3d Cir.) | multiple |
| United States v. Norris | 281 U.S. 619 (1930) | Sutherland | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (3d Cir.) | judgment reversed |
| United States v. Farrar | 281 U.S. 624 (1930) | Sutherland | 9-0 | none | none | appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts (D. Mass.) | judgment affirmed |
| Jamison v. Encarnacion | 281 U.S. 635 (1930) | Butler | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the New York Supreme Court (N.Y. Sup. Ct.) | judgment affirmed |
| Alpha Steamship Corporation v. Cain | 281 U.S. 642 (1930) | Butler | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (2d Cir.) | judgment affirmed |
| Toombs v. Citizens Bank of Waynesboro | 281 U.S. 643 (1930) | Stone | 9-0 | none | none | appeal from the Georgia Supreme Court (Ga.) | judgment affirmed |
| Surplus Trading Company v. Cook | 281 U.S. 647 (1930) | VanDevanter | 9-0 | none | none | error to the Arkansas Supreme Court (Ark.) | judgment reversed, and cause remanded |
| Ann Arbor Railroad Company v. United States | 281 U.S. 658 (1930) | VanDevanter | 9-0 | none | none | appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (N.D. Cal.) | decree reversed |
| Panama Mail Steamship Company v. Vargas | 281 U.S. 670 (1930) | VanDevanter | 9-0 | none | none | certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (9th Cir.) | decrees vacated, and cause remanded |
| Brinkerhoff-Faris Trust and Savings Company v. Hill, Treasurer of Henry County, Missouri | 281 U.S. 673 (1930) | Brandeis | 8-0[c] | none | none | certiorari to the Missouri Supreme Court (Mo.) | judgment reversed, and case remanded |
| New Orleans Public Service, Inc. v. City of New Orleans | 281 U.S. 682 (1930) | Butler | 9-0 | none | none | appeal from the Louisiana Supreme Court (La.) | decree affirmed |
    [a] Hughes took no part in the case
    [b] Stone took no part in the case
    [c] McReynolds took no part in the case