List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 69

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This is a list of cases reported in volume 69 (2 Wall.) of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1864 and 1865.

In 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").

Starting with the 66th volume of U. S. Reports, the Reporter of Decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States was John William Wallace. Wallace was Reporter of Decisions from 1863 to 1874, covering volumes 68 through 90 of United States Reports which correspond to volumes 1 through 23 of his Wallace's Reports. As such, the dual form of citation to, for example, The Andromeda is 69 U. S. (2 Wall.) 481 (1865). Wallace's Reports were the final nominative reports for the US Supreme Court; starting with volume 91, cases were identified simply as "(volume #) U. S. (page #) (year)".

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 69 U. S. (2 Wall.) were decided the Court's membership began at ten justices, then shrank to nine upon the death of Chief Justice Taney in October 1864, and increased again to the statutory number of ten when Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase took office in December 1864:

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) Salmon P. Chase Chief Justice Ohio Roger B. Taney December 6, 1864(Acclamation) December 15, 1864–May 7, 1873(Died) James Moore Wayne Associate Justice Georgia William Johnson January 9, 1835(Acclamation) January 14, 1835–July 5, 1867(Died) John Catron Associate Justice Tennessee newly created seat March 8, 1837(28–15) May 1, 1837–May 30, 1865(Died) Samuel Nelson Associate Justice New York Smith Thompson February 14, 1845(Acclamation) February 27, 1845–November 28, 1872(Retired) Robert Cooper Grier Associate Justice Pennsylvania Henry Baldwin August 4, 1846(Acclamation) August 10, 1846–January 31, 1870(Retired) Nathan Clifford Associate Justice Maine Benjamin Robbins Curtis January 12, 1858(26–23) January 21, 1858–July 25, 1881(Died) Noah Haynes Swayne Associate Justice Ohio John McLean January 24, 1862(38–1) January 27, 1862–January 24, 1881(Retired) Samuel Freeman Miller Associate Justice Iowa Peter Vivian Daniel July 16, 1862(Acclamation) July 21, 1862–October 13, 1890(Died) David Davis Associate Justice Illinois John Archibald Campbell December 8, 1862(Acclamation) December 10, 1862–March 4, 1877(Resigned) Stephen Johnson Field Associate Justice California newly created seat March 10, 1863(Acclamation) May 10, 1863–December 1, 1897(Retired)

The four Slavers Cases ((The Bark Kate), 69 U. S. (2 Wall.) 350 (1865); (The Bark Sarah), 69 U. S. (2 Wall.) 366 (1865); (The Weathergage), 69 U. S. (2 Wall.) 375 (1865); and (The Bark Reindeer), 69 U. S. (2 Wall.) 383 (1865)), involve three ships seized by the federal government near New York City, and one seized off Newport, Rhode Island. The ships appeared to be set up for the slave trade, and had voyages planned to the western coast of Africa where the slave trade flourished at the time. The cargo, fittings, and other circumstances surrounding the ships led to a presumption that they were engaged in slaving, contrary to several federal statutes. In The Bark Kate (at pp. 363–64), Chief Justice Chase wrote in his opinion for the Court:

In considering this evidence, it is to be borne in mind that for more than three hundred years the western coast of Africa has been scourged by the atrocities of the slave trade, and that this inhuman traffic, although at length proscribed and pursued with severe penalties by nearly all Christian nations, has continued, with almost unabated activity and ferocity, even to our times. Fears of forfeiture of property, and even of life, have been easily overcome by hopes of enormous gains, and so long as markets for slaves remain open, and imperfect execution of the laws permits the expectation of profit from crime, the most conspicuous results of penal legislation will be, more cunning in the contrivance and more adroitness in the use of means for evading or defeating its intent and operation. The difficulty of penetrating the disguises of crime is enhanced in the case of the slave trade by the circumstance that a very considerable traffic [in lawful commerce] . has sprung up and is carried on with the same African coast from which human cargoes are collected. It does not seem unreasonable, since it is the paramount interest of humanity that the traffic in men be at all events arrested, to require of the trader who engages in a commerce [that] . is necessarily suspicious from its theater and circumstances, that he keep his operations so clear and so distinct in their character as to repel the imputation of prohibited purpose. In each of the four cases the Supreme Court upheld seizure of the ships by the federal government.

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 . 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

Case Name Page & year Opinion of the Court Concurring opinion(s) Dissenting opinion(s) Lower Court Disposition Dermott v. Jones 1 (1865) Swayne none none C. C. D. C. reversed Hawthorne v. Calef 10 (1865) Nelson none none Me. reversed Drury v. Foster 24 (1865) Nelson none none "Federal Ct. Minn." (sic) affirmed Miles v. Caldwell 35 (1865) Miller none none C. C. D. Mo. reversed Providence T. Co. v. Norris 45 (1865) Field none none C. C. D. R. I. reversed Gregg v. Forsyth 56 (1865) Nelson none none C. C. D. Ill. dismissed Banks v. Ogden 57 (1865) Chase none none C. C. N. D. Ill. reversed Brooks v. Martin 70 (1864) Miller none Catron "Federal Ct. Wis." (sic) affirmed Badger v. Badger 87 (1865) Grier none none C. C. D. Mass. affirmed Brobst v. Brobst 96 (1865) Nelson none none not indicated certification Day v. Gallup 97 (1865) Wayne none none "Federal Ct. Minn." (sic) dismissed Humiston v. Stainthorp 106 (1865) Nelson none none C. C. N. D. N. Y. dismissed Murray v. Lardner 110 (1865) Swayne none none C. C. S. D. N. Y. reversed Heckers v. Fowler 123 (1865) Clifford none none C. C. S. D. N. Y. affirmed Ex parte Dugan 134 (1865) per curiam none none Sup. Ct. D. C. certiorari granted The Circassian 135 (1865) Chase none Nelson S. D. Fla. affirmed Freeborn v. Smith 160 (1865) Grier none none Sup. Ct. Terr. Nev. affirmed Sheets v. Selden's Lessee 177 (1865) Field none none C. C. D. Ind. affirmed Chittenden v. Brewster 191 (1865) Nelson none none C. C. N. D. Ill. reversed Campbell v. Read 198 (1865) Chase none none C. C. D. C. dismissed Bank Tax Case 200 (1865) Nelson none none N. Y. reversed Florentine v. Barton 210 (1865) Grier none none C. C. N. D. Ill. affirmed Cooke v. United States 218 (1864) Chase none none not indicated dismissal denied Smith v. United States 219 (1865) Clifford none none C. C. N. D. Ill. reversed Miller v. Sherry 237 (1865) Swayne none none C. C. N. D. Ill. affirmed Marine Bank v. Fulton Bank 252 (1865) Miller none none C. C. N. D. Ill. affirmed The Venice 258 (1865) Chase none none S. D. Fla. affirmed Pico v. United States 279 (1865) Field none none N. D. Cal. affirmed Bronson v. La Crosse & M. R. R. Co. 283 (1864) Nelson none none C. C. D. Wis. reversed Ransom v. Williams 313 (1865) Swayne none none C. C. N. D. Ill. affirmed Case v. Brown 320 (1865) Grier none none C. C. N. D. Ill. affirmed Harvey v. Tyler 328 (1865) Miller none none W. D. Va. affirmed The Slavers I 350 (1865) Chase none none S. D. N. Y. affirmed The Slavers II 366 (1865) Clifford none none S. D. N. Y. affirmed The Slavers III 375 (1865) Clifford none none C. C. S. D. N. Y. affirmed The Slavers IV 383 (1865) Clifford none none C. C. D. R. I. affirmed Albany B. Case 403 (1865) per curiam none none C. C. N. D. N. Y. affirmed Mrs. Alexander's Cotton 404 (1865) Chase none none S. D. Ill. reversed Tobey v. Leonards 423 (1865) Wayne none none C. C. D. Mass. reversed Milwaukee & M. R. R. Co. v. Soutter I 440 (1865) Chase none none "Federal Ct. Wis." (sic) dismissal denied United States v. Billing 444 (1865) Grier none none not indicated affirmed Pacific Mail S. S. Co. v. Joliffe 450 (1865) Field none Miller San Francisco Cnty. Ct. affirmed The Baigorry 474 (1865) Chase none none not indicated affirmed The Andromeda 481 (1865) Chase Nelson none S. D. Fla. affirmed Kutter v. Smith 491 (1865) Miller none none C. C. N. D. Ill. affirmed Levy Court v. Coroner 501 (1865) Miller none none C. C. D. C. affirmed Milwaukee & M. R. R. Co. v. Soutter II 510 (1865) Miller none none C. C. D. Wis. reversed United States v. Stone 525 (1865) Grier none none "Federal Ct. Kan." (sic) affirmed The Ann Caroline 538 (1865) Clifford none none C. C. S. D. N. Y. affirmed The Morning Light 550 (1865) Clifford none none C. C. S. D. N. Y. affirmed Gordon v. United States 561 (1865) per curiam none none Ct. Cl. dismissed The Sutter Case 562 (1865) Nelson none none N. D. Cal. reversed United States v. Pacheco 587 (1865) Field none none N. D. Cal. affirmed Read v. Bowman 591 (1865) Clifford none none C. C. N. D. Ill. affirmed Hogan v. Page 605 (1865) Nelson none none Mo. reversed Minnesota Co. v. St. Paul Co. 609 (1865) Miller none Nelson C. C. D. Wis. reversed The Fossat Case 649 (1864) Nelson none Clifford D. Cal. reversed Lowber v. Bangs 728 (1865) Swayne none Clifford C. C. D. Mass. reversed Ex parte Fleming 759 (1865) Miller none none D. Wis. mandamus denied