Law Faculty

Home Building and Loan Association v. Blaisdell, 290 U.S. 398; 54 S. Ct. 231; 78 L. Ed. 413 (1934) Facts—The Home Building and Loan Association held a mortgage on the land of Blaisdell, which by reason of default, was foreclosed.…

Stone v. Mississippi, 101 U.S. 814; 25 L. Ed. 1079 (1880) Facts—The legislature of Mississippi passed an act, approved February 16, 1867, entitled “An act incorporating the Mississippi Agricultural and Manufacturing Aid Society.” Actually it was nothing but a lottery…

Charles River Bridge Co. v. Warren River Bridge, 11 Peters (36 U.S.) 420; 9 L. Ed. 773 (1837) Facts—The Charles River Bridge Company brought action to stop the construction of the Warren River Bridge on the ground that the act…

Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 4 Wheaton (17 U.S.) 518; 4 L. Ed. 629 (1819) Facts—In 1769 the English Crown chartered Dartmouth College. Later, in 1816, the state legislature of New Hampshire passed a law completely reorganizing the government…

Fletcher v. Peck, 6 Cranch (10 U.S.) 87; 3 L. Ed. 162 (1810) Facts—John Peck deeded to Robert Fletcher lands in the state of Georgia, which had been bought from the state of Georgia. The contract was executed in the…

Calder v. Bull, 3 Dallas (3 U.S.) 386; 1 L. Ed. 648 (1798) Facts—A dispute arose between Calder and his wife on one side and Bull and his wife on the other side concerning a right to property left by…

Coleman v. Miller, 307 U.S. 433; 59 S. Ct. 972; 83 L. Ed. 1385 (1939) Facts—In June 1924 Congress proposed the Child Labor Amendment. In January 1925 the legislature of Kansas adopted a resolution rejecting the proposed amendment, and sent…

Dillon v. Gloss, 256 U.S. 368; 41 S. Ct. 513; 65 L. Ed. 994 (1921) Facts—Dillon was taken into custody under the National Prohibition Act of October 28, 1919 for transporting intoxicating liquor. He petitioned the court and sought to…

Hawke v. Smith, 253 U.S. 221; 40 S. Ct. 495; 64 L. Ed. 871 (1920) Facts—Hawke, a citizen of Ohio, sought to enjoin the secretary of state of Ohio from spending public money in preparing and printing ballots for a…

National Prohibition Cases (Rhode Island v. Palmer), 253 U.S. 350; 40 S. Ct. 486; 64 L. Ed. 946 (1920) Facts—The National Prohibition Cases consisted of seven cases questioning the constitutionality and legality of the Eighteenth Amendment and asking the lower…

Hollingsworth v. Virginia, 3 Dallas (3 U.S.) 378; 1 L. Ed. 644 (1798) Facts—After the Court’s decision in Chisholm v. Georgia (1793), Congress proposed the Eleventh Amendment providing that no state could be sued by citizens of another state, or…

Garcia v. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority, 469 U.S. 528; 105 S. Ct. 1005; 83 L. Ed. 2d 1016 (1985) Facts—The San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority (SAMTA) is a public mass transit authority. The Department of Labor held that SAMTA’s…

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wyoming, 460 U.S. 226; 103 S. Ct. 1054; 75 L. Ed. 2d 18 (1983) Facts—A supervisor for a state game and fish department was dismissed on reaching the age of 55. With the approval of…

National League of Cities v. Usery, 426 U.S. 833; 96 S. Ct. 2465; 49 L. Ed. 2d 245 (1976) Facts—The Fair Labor Standards Act was amended in 1974 to extend its minimum wage and maximum hour provisions to most state…

United States v. F. W. Darby Lumber Co., 312 U.S. 100; 61 S. Ct. 451; 85 L. Ed. 609 (1941) Facts—The appellee was engaged, in the state of Georgia, in the business of acquiring raw materials, which he manufactured into…

Ziffrin v. Reeves, 308 U.S. 132; 60 S. Ct. 103; 84 L. Ed. 128 (1939) Facts—Appellant, an Indiana corporation, had, since 1933, been receiving whisky from distillers in Kentucky for direct carriage to consignees in Chicago. It had permission under…

Coyle v. Smith, 221 U.S. 559; 31 S. Ct. 688; 55 L. Ed. 853 (1911) Facts—When Oklahoma was admitted as a state in 1907, Congress provided that the capital should be located at Guthrie until the year 1913. In 1910…