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).[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 95 U.S. were decided the Court comprised the following nine members:
In Hall v. Decuir, 95 U.S. 485 (1878), Josephine Decuir, a wealthy woman designated a Creole, sued for racial discrimination she experienced on a steamboat. She was traveling from New Orleans to Pointe Coupee Parish, where she owned a sugar plantation. The Supreme Court held that the Louisiana statute authorizing a damages award to Decuir unconstitutionally interfered with interstate commerce. The majority opinion, by Morrison Waite, sought to avoid conflicting state laws with regard to interstate transit. Hall marked the beginning of a phase in Supreme Court jurisprudence that reached its nadir in Plessy v. Ferguson.
Sylvester Pennoyer
Pennoyer v. Neff
In Pennoyer v. Neff, 95 U.S. 714 (1878), the Supreme Court held that a state court can only exert personal jurisdiction over a party domiciled out-of-state if that party is served with process while physically present within the state. The Court was asked to determine whether a state court has personal jurisdiction over a non-resident (Neff) when such non-resident: (a) did not voluntarily appear before the court; (b) was not personally served with process while within the state; and (c) held property within the state at the time of the original lawsuit, but the property was not attached to the suit when it was initiated. The Court ruled in favor of Neff, holding that for the trial court to have jurisdiction over the property the property needed to be attached before the start of litigation, upon which the trial court has quasi in rem jurisdiction.
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.
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 . . .
