This is a list of cases reported in volume 37 (12 Pet.) of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1838.[1]
| Supreme Court of the United States | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| 38°53′26″N 77°00′16″W / 38.89056°N 77.00444°W | |
| Established | March 4, 1789 |
| Location | Washington, D.C. |
| Coordinates | 38°53′26″N 77°00′16″W / 38.89056°N 77.00444°W |
| Composition method | Presidential nomination with Senate confirmation |
| Authorised by | Constitution of the United States, Art. III, § 1 |
| Judge term length | life tenure, subject to impeachment and removal |
| Number of positions | 9 (by statute) |
| Website | supremecourt |
Nominative reports
editIn 1874, the U.S. government created the United States Reports, and retroactively numbered older privately-published case reports as part of the new series. As a result, cases appearing in volumes 1–90 of U.S. Reports have dual citation forms; one for the volume number of U.S. Reports, and one for the volume number of the reports named for the relevant reporter of decisions (these are called "nominative reports").
Richard Peters, Jr.
editStarting with the 26th volume of U.S. Reports, the Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States was Richard Peters, Jr. Peters was Reporter of Decisions from 1828 to 1843, covering volumes 26 through 41 of United States Reports which correspond to volumes 1 through 16 of his Peters's Reports. As such, the dual form of citation to, for example, United States v. Coombs is 37 U.S. (12 Pet.) 72 (1838).
Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of 37 U.S. (12 Pet.)
editThe 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).[2] 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 37 U.S. (12 Pet.) were decided, the Court for the first time comprised nine justices, its membership having been expanded under the Eighth and Ninth Circuits Act of 1837; they were:
| Portrait | Justice | Office | Home State | Succeeded | Date confirmed by the Senate (Vote) |
Tenure on Supreme Court |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Roger B. Taney | Chief Justice | Maryland | John Marshall | March 15, 1836 (29–15) |
March 28, 1836 – October 12, 1864 (Died) |
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|
Joseph Story |
Associate Justice | Massachusetts | William Cushing | November 18, 1811 (Acclamation) |
February 3, 1812 – September 10, 1845 (Died) |
 |
Smith Thompson | Associate Justice | New York | Henry Brockholst Livingston | December 9, 1823 (Acclamation) |
September 1, 1823 – December 18, 1843 (Died) |
 |
John McLean | Associate Justice | Ohio | Robert Trimble | March 7, 1829 (Acclamation) |
January 11, 1830 – April 4, 1861 (Died) |
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Henry Baldwin | Associate Justice | Pennsylvania | Bushrod Washington | January 6, 1830 (41–2) |
January 18, 1830 – April 21, 1844 (Died) |
 |
James Moore Wayne | Associate Justice | Georgia | William Johnson | January 9, 1835 (Acclamation) |
January 14, 1835 – July 5, 1867 (Died) |
 |
Philip P. Barbour | Associate Justice | Gabriel Duvall | March 15, 1836 (30–11) |
May 12, 1836 – February 25, 1841 (Died) | |
 |
John Catron | Associate Justice | Tennessee | newly created seat | March 8, 1837 (28–15) |
May 1, 1837 – May 30, 1865 (Died) |
 |
John McKinley | Associate Justice | Alabama | newly created seat | September 25, 1837 (Acclamation) |
January 9, 1838 – July 19, 1852 (Died) |
Notable Case in 37 U.S. (12 Pet.)
edit
Rhode Island v. Massachusetts
editIn Rhode Island v. Massachusetts, 37 U.S. (12 Pet.) 755 (1838), the Supreme Court asserted its original jurisdiction in a case involving one state against another over their shared border. The case involved a boundary dispute between Massachusetts and Rhode Island dating back to colonial times. Daniel Webster was involved in the case, representing Massachusetts.
Citation style
editUnder 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.
Bluebook citation style is used for case names, citations, and jurisdictions.
- "C.C.D." = United States Circuit Court for the District of . . .
- e.g.,"C.C.D.N.J." = United States Circuit Court for the District of New Jersey
- "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.,"C.C.S.D.N.Y." = United States Circuit Court for the Southern District of New York
- 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 37 U.S. (12 Pet.)
editNotes and references
edit- ^ Anne Ashmore, DATES OF SUPREME COURT DECISIONS AND ARGUMENTS, Library, Supreme Court of the United States, 26 December 2018.
- ^ "Supreme Court Research Guide". Georgetown Law Library. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
See also
editExternal links
edit- [1] Case reports in volume 37 (12 Pet.) from Library of Congress
- [2] Case reports in volume 37 (12 Pet.) from Court Listener
- [3] Case reports in volume 37 (12 Pet.) from the Caselaw Access Project of Harvard Law School
- [4] Case reports in volume 37 (12 Pet.) from Google Scholar
- [5] Case reports in volume 37 (12 Pet.) from Justia
- [6] Case reports in volume 37 (12 Pet.) from Open Jurist
- Website of the United States Supreme Court
- United States Courts website about the Supreme Court
- National Archives, Records of the Supreme Court of the United States
- American Bar Association, How Does the Supreme Court Work?
- The Supreme Court Historical Society
