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).[1] 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 156 were decided the Court comprised the following nine members:
March 12, 1894 – December 18, 1910 (Continued as chief justice)
Notable Cases in 156 U.S.
United States v. E.C. Knight Co.
United States v. E.C. Knight Co., 156 U.S. 1 (1895), also known as the "Sugar Trust Case," is an antitrust decision that severely limited the federal government's power to pursue antitrust actions under the Sherman Antitrust Act. The Supreme Court held that Congress could not regulate manufacturing, thus giving state governments the sole power to take legal action against manufacturing monopolies. The case has never been overruled, but in Swift & Co. v. United States and subsequent cases the Court has held that Congress can regulate manufacturing when it affects interstate commerce.
Sparf v. United States
Sparf v. United States, 156 U.S. 51 (1895), is a criminal law decision by the Supreme Court. The Court held that if one of two persons accused of having together committed the crime of murder makes a voluntary confession in the presence of the other, without threat or coercion, then the confession is admissible in evidence against both. In addition, the Court clarified several questions relating to the duty of federal criminal juries, and of federal courts when instructing them.
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.
