# List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 278

This is a list of cases reported in volume 278 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1928 and 1929.

## Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 278 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 278 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 Case in 278 U.S.
### Wisconsin v. Illinois

Wisconsin v. Illinois, 278 U.S. 367 (1929), also referred to as the "Chicago Sanitary District Case", is an opinion of the Supreme Court, which held that the equitable power of the United States can be used to impose positive action on one state in a situation in which non-action would result in damage to the interests of other states. The city of Chicago increasingly was diverting Great Lakes waters to carry off sewage through a long-established drainage canal, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Illinois claimed that these increasing amounts of diverted water were necessary due to Chicago's growth. Wisconsin, however, claimed that the diversion was lowering lake levels, thereby impairing its transportation facilities and abilities. The Court decided for Wisconsin. In deciding a case between States, the authority of the Court to enjoin a continued wrong being inflicted necessarily includes the authority to require measures to be taken to end the conditions which stand in the way of the execution of the decree.

## 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 278 U.S.

| Case Name | Page and year | Opinion of the Court | Concurring opinion(s) | Dissenting opinion(s) | Lower Court | Disposition |
| Foster-Fountain Packing Company v. Haydel | 1 (1928) | Butler | none | McReynolds | E.D. La. | reversed |
| Johnson v. Haydel | 16 (1928) | Butler | none | none | E.D. La. | reversed |
| Maney v. United States | 17 (1928) | Holmes | none | none | 7th Cir. | affirmed |
| Lehigh Valley Railroad Company v. Board of Public Utility Commissioners of New Jersey | 24 (1928) | Taft | none | McReynolds | D.N.J. | affirmed |
| Boston Sand and Gravel Company v. United States | 41 (1928) | Holmes | none | Sutherland | 1st Cir. | affirmed |
| United States v. Cambridge Loan and Building Company | 55 (1928) | Holmes | none | none | Ct. Cl. | affirmed |
| United States v. Lenson | 60 (1928) | Holmes | none | none | Ct. Cl. | reversed |
| New York ex rel. Bryant v. Zimmerman | 63 (1928) | VanDevanter | none | McReynolds | N.Y. Sup. Ct. | affirmed |
| Charles Warner Company v. Independent Pier Company | 85 (1928) | McReynolds | none | none | 3d Cir. | reversed |
| Herkness v. Irion | 92 (1928) | Brandeis | none | none | E.D. La. | reversed |
| Hunt v. United States | 96 (1928) | Sutherland | none | none | D. Ariz. | affirmed |
| Ex parte Public National Bank of New York | 101 (1928) | Sutherland | none | none | S.D.N.Y. | mandamus denied |
| Louis K. Liggett Company v. Baldridge | 105 (1928) | Sutherland | none | Holmes | E.D. Pa. | reversed |
| Washington ex rel. Seattle Title Trust Company v. Roberge | 116 (1928) | Butler | none | none | Wash. | reversed |
| Jordan v. Tashiro | 123 (1928) | Stone | none | none | Cal. | affirmed |
| Pacific Steamship Company v. Peterson | 130 (1928) | Sanford | none | none | Wash. | affirmed |
| Unadilla Valley Railway Company v. Caldine | 139 (1928) | Holmes | none | none | N.Y. | reversed |
| Northern Coal and Dock Company v. Strand | 142 (1928) | McReynolds | Stone | none | Wis. | reversed |
| Security Mortgage Company v. Powers | 149 (1928) | Brandeis | none | none | 5th Cir. | reversed |
| Weil v. Neary | 160 (1929) | Taft | none | none | 2d Cir. | reversed |
| Lash's Products Company v. United States | 175 (1929) | Holmes | none | none | Ct. Cl. | affirmed |
| Commercial Casualty Insurance Company v. Consolidated Stone Company | 177 (1929) | VanDevanter | none | none | 6th Cir. | certification |
| Russell v. United States | 181 (1929) | McReynolds | none | none | 5th Cir. | reversed |
| Slaker v. O'Connor | 188 (1929) | McReynolds | none | none | 8th Cir. | dismissed |
| Roe v. Kansas ex rel. Smith | 191 (1929) | McReynolds | none | none | Kan. | dismissed |
| State Highway Commission of Wyoming v. Utah Construction Company | 194 (1929) | McReynolds | none | none | 8th Cir. | reversed |
| West v. Standard Oil Company | 200 (1929) | Brandeis | none | none | D.C. Cir. | reversed |
| Cogen v. United States | 221 (1929) | Brandeis | none | none | 2d Cir. | affirmed |
| Lawrence v. St. Louis–San Francisco Railway Company | 228 (1929) | Brandeis | none | none | N.D. Okla. | affirmed |
| Williams v. Standard Oil Company of Louisiana | 235 (1929) | Sutherland | none | none | M.D. Tenn. | affirmed |
| George Van Camp and Sons Company v. American Can Company | 245 (1929) | Sutherland | none | none | 7th Cir. | certification |
| United States v. Williams | 255 (1929) | Sutherland | none | none | 3d Cir. | reversed |
| Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad Company v. Mars | 258 (1929) | Butler | none | none | Tex. | affirmed |
| International Shoe Company v. Pinkus | 261 (1929) | Butler | none | none | Ark. | reversed |
| United States v. Missouri Pacific Railroad Company | 269 (1929) | Butler | none | none | W.D. Ark. | affirmed |
| Botany Worsted Mills v. United States | 282 (1929) | Sanford | none | none | Ct. Cl. | affirmed |
| United States v. Carver | 294 (1929) | Sanford | none | none | Ct. Cl. | reversed |
| United Fuel Gas Company v. Railroad Commission of Kentucky | 300 (1929) | Stone | none | none | E.D. Ky. | affirmed |
| United Fuel Gas Company v. Public Service Commission of West Virginia | 322 (1929) | Stone | none | none | S.D.W. Va. | affirmed |
| Chase National Bank v. United States | 327 (1929) | Stone | none | none | Ct. Cl. | certification |
| Reinecke v. Northern Trust Company | 339 (1929) | Stone | none | none | 7th Cir. | multiple |
| Gleason v. Seaboard Air Line Railroad Company | 349 (1929) | Stone | none | none | 5th Cir. | reversed |
| Oriel v. Russell | 358 (1929) | Taft | none | none | 2d Cir. | affirmed |
| Wisconsin v. Illinois | 367 (1929) | Taft | none | none | original | returned to master |
| Exchange Trust Company v. Drainage District No. 7 | 421 (1929) | Taft | none | none | Ark. | affirmed |
| United States v. Commonwealth and Dominion Line, Ltd. | 427 (1929) | Holmes | none | none | 2d Cir. | reversed |
| Larson v. South Dakota | 429 (1929) | Taft | none | none | S.D. | affirmed |
| Arlington Hotel Company v. Fant | 439 (1929) | Taft | none | none | Ark. | affirmed |
| Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway Company v. White | 456 (1929) | Holmes | none | none | Tenn. | affirmed |
| Cudahy Packing Company v. Hinkle | 460 (1929) | McReynolds | none | Brandeis | W.D. Wash. | reversed |
| Taft v. Bowers | 470 (1929) | McReynolds | none | none | 2d Cir. | affirmed |
| Salomon v. State Tax Commission of New York | 484 (1929) | Brandeis | none | none | N.Y. County Sur. Ct. | affirmed |
| Michigan Central Railroad Company v. Mix | 492 (1929) | Brandeis | none | none | Mo. | reversed |
| Western and Atlantic Railroad Company v. Hughes | 496 (1929) | Brandeis | none | none | Ga. Ct. App. | affirmed |
| Hart Refineries v. Harmon | 499 (1929) | Sutherland | none | none | Mont. | affirmed |
| Great Northern Railroad Company v. Minnesota | 503 (1929) | Sutherland | none | none | Minn. | affirmed |
| Rice and Adams Corporation v. Lathrop | 509 (1929) | Sutherland | none | none | 2d Cir. | affirmed |
| Frost v. Corporate Commission of Oklahoma | 515 (1929) | Sutherland | none | Brandeis; Stone | W.D. Okla. | reversed |