# List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 311

This is a list of cases reported in volume 311 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1940 and 1941.

## Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 311 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 311 were decided the Court comprised the following members:
| Justice | Office | Home State | Succeeded | Date confirmed by the Senate (Vote) | Tenure on Supreme Court |
| Charles Evans Hughes | Chief Justice | New York | William Howard Taft | February 13, 1930 (52–26) | February 24, 1930 – June 30, 1941 (Retired) |
| James Clark McReynolds | Associate Justice | Tennessee | Horace Harmon Lurton | August 29, 1914 (44–6) | October 12, 1914 – January 31, 1941 (Retired) |
| Harlan F. Stone | Associate Justice | New York | Joseph McKenna | February 5, 1925 (71–6) | March 2, 1925 – July 2, 1941 (Continued as chief justice) |
| Owen Roberts | Associate Justice | Pennsylvania | Edward Terry Sanford | May 20, 1930 (Acclamation) | June 2, 1930 – July 31, 1945 (Resigned) |
| Hugo Black | Associate Justice | Alabama | Willis Van Devanter | August 17, 1937 (63–16) | August 19, 1937 – September 17, 1971 (Retired) |
| Stanley Forman Reed | Associate Justice | Kentucky | George Sutherland | January 25, 1938 (Acclamation) | January 31, 1938 – February 25, 1957 (Retired) |
| Felix Frankfurter | Associate Justice | Massachusetts | Benjamin Nathan Cardozo | January 17, 1939 (Acclamation) | January 30, 1939 – August 28, 1962 (Retired) |
| William O. Douglas | Associate Justice | Connecticut | Louis Brandeis | April 4, 1939 (62–4) | April 17, 1939 – November 12, 1975 (Retired) |
| Frank Murphy | Associate Justice | Michigan | Pierce Butler | January 16, 1940 (Acclamation) | February 5, 1940 – July 19, 1949 (Died) |

## 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 311 U.S.

| Case name | Citation | Date decided |
| Arkansas v. Tennessee | 311 U.S. 1 | 1940 |
| Continental Assurance Company v. Tennessee | 311 U.S. 5 | 1940 |
| Republic Steel Corporation v. National Labor Relations Board | 311 U.S. 7 | 1940 |
| Fleisher Engineering and Construction Company v. United States ex rel. Hallenbeck | 311 U.S. 15 | 1940 |
| W. India Oil Company v. Domenech | 311 U.S. 20 | 1940 |
| Hansberry v. Lee | 311 U.S. 32 | 1940 |
| Helvering v. Northwestern Steel Rolling Mills, Inc. | 311 U.S. 46 | 1940 |
| Crane-Johnson Company v. Helvering | 311 U.S. 54 | 1940 |
| J.E. Riley Investment Company v. Internal Revenue Service | 311 U.S. 55 | 1940 |
| United States v. Stewart (1940) | 311 U.S. 60 | 1940 |
| Machinists v. National Labor Relations Board | 311 U.S. 72 | 1940 |
| Neuberger v. Internal Revenue Service | 311 U.S. 83 | 1940 |
| Milk Wagon Drivers v. Lake Valley Farm Products, Inc. | 311 U.S. 91 | 1940 |
| Wilson and Company v. United States | 311 U.S. 104 | 1940 |
| Wisconsin v. Illinois | 311 U.S. 107 | 1940 |
| Helvering v. Horst | 311 U.S. 112 | 1940 |
| Helvering v. Eubank | 311 U.S. 122 | 1940 |
| Smith v. Texas (1940) | 311 U.S. 128 | 1940 |
| Federal Communications Commission v. Columbia Broadcasting System | 311 U.S. 132 | 1940 |
| American United Mutual Life Insurance Company v. Avon Park | 311 U.S. 138 | 1940 |
| Bacardi Corporation v. Domenech | 311 U.S. 150 | 1940 |
| Fidelity Union Trust Company v. Field | 311 U.S. 169 | 1940 |
| Six Cos. v. Joint Highway District | 311 U.S. 180 | 1940 |
| Helvering v. Janney | 311 U.S. 189 | 1940 |
| Taft v. Helvering | 311 U.S. 195 | 1940 |
| Kloeb v. Armour and Company | 311 U.S. 199 | 1940 |
| United States v. Falcone | 311 U.S. 205 | 1940 |
| Schriber-Schroth Company v. Cleveland Trust Company | 311 U.S. 211 | 1940 |
| West v. AT&T | 311 U.S. 223 | 1940 |
| Montgomery Ward and Company v. Duncan | 311 U.S. 243 | 1940 |
| C.E. Stevens Company v. Foster and Kleiser Company | 311 U.S. 255 | 1940 |
| Bowman v. Loperena | 311 U.S. 262 | 1940 |
| Helvering v. Oregon Mutual Life Insurance Company | 311 U.S. 267 | 1940 |
| Helvering v. Pan-American Life Insurance Company | 311 U.S. 272 | 1940 |
| Wright v. Union Central Life Insurance Company | 311 U.S. 273 | 1940 |
| Deckert v. Independent Shares Corporation | 311 U.S. 282 | 1940 |
| United States v. Harris | 311 U.S. 292 | 1940 |
| L. Singer and Sons v. Union Pacific Railroad Company | 311 U.S. 295 | 1940 |
| United States v. Northern Pacific Railroad Company | 311 U.S. 317 | 1940 |
| United States v. Appalachian Electric Power Company | 311 U.S. 377 | 1940 |
| Wisconsin v. J.C. Penney Company | 311 U.S. 435 | 1940 |
| Wisconsin v. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company | 311 U.S. 452 | 1940 |
| Best and Company v. Maxwell | 311 U.S. 454 | 1940 |
| Milliken v. Meyer | 311 U.S. 457 | 1940 |
| Stoner v. New York Life Insurance Company | 311 U.S. 464 | 1940 |
| Z. and F. Assets Realization Corporation v. Hull | 311 U.S. 470 | 1941 |
| Jackson v. Irving Trust Company | 311 U.S. 494 | 1941 |
| Helvering v. Hammel | 311 U.S. 504 | 1941 |
| Electro-Chemical Engraving Company v. Commissioner | 311 U.S. 513 | 1941 |
| H.J. Heinz Company v. National Labor Relations Board | 311 U.S. 514 | 1941 |
| McClain v. Internal Revenue Service | 311 U.S. 527 | 1941 |
| Voeller v. Neilston Warehouse Company | 311 U.S. 531 | 1941 |
| Vandenbark v. Owens-Illinois Glass Company | 311 U.S. 538 | 1941 |
| Palmer v. Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company | 311 U.S. 544 | 1941 |
| Railroad Commissioner v. Rowan and Nichols Oil Company | 311 U.S. 570 | 1941 |
| Railroad Commissioner v. Humble Oil and Refining Company | 311 U.S. 578 | 1941 |
| Reconstruction Finance Corporation v. Prudence Sec. Advisory Group | 311 U.S. 579 | 1941 |
| National Labor Relations Board v. Link-Belt Company | 311 U.S. 584 | 1941 |