List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 41

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This is a list of cases reported in volume 41 (16 Pet.) of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1842.

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 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, Nixdorff v. Smith is 41 U. S. (16 Pet.) 132 (1842).

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 41 U. S. (16 Pet.) were decided the Court comprised these nine justices:

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) 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) 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) 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) Peter Vivian Daniel Associate Justice Virginia Philip P. Barbour March 2, 1841(25–5) January 10, 1842–May 31, 1860(Died)

In Swift v. Tyson, 41 U. S. (16 Pet.) 1 (1842), the US Supreme Court determined that United States federal courts hearing diversity jurisdiction cases under the Judiciary Act of 1789 must apply statutory state laws when the state legislature in question had spoken on the relevant issue, but need not apply the a state's common law if the state's legislature had not spoken on the issue. The decision meant that the federal courts deciding matters not specifically addressed by a state legislature had the authority to develop a federal common law.

In Prigg v. Pennsylvania, 41 U. S. (16 Pet.) 539 (1842), the US Supreme Court held that the federal Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 pre empted a state law that made it a crime to take blacks out of the free state of Pennsylvania and into slavery elsewhere. Also, by refusing to take judicial notice of the problem of free blacks being kidnapped in free states and sold into slavery, Prigg implied that blacks were entitled to fewer procedural protections than were whites.

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 and year Opinion of the Court Concurring opinion(s) Dissenting opinion(s) Lower Court Disposition Swift v. Tyson 1 (1842) Story Catron none C. C. S. D. N. Y. certification Watkins v. Holman's Lessee 25 (1842) McLean none none C. C. S. D. Ala. reversed Beall v. Holman's Lessee 64 (1842) per curiam none none C. C. N. D. Ala. reversed Long v. Palmer, Smith and Company 65 (1842) Thompson none none C. C. S. D. Miss. affirmed Cocke ex rel. Commercial Bank v. Halsey 71 (1842) Daniel none none C. C. S. D. Miss. reversed Keary v. Farmers' and Merchants' Bank of Memphis 89 (1842) Story none none C. C. S. D. Miss. reversed Gordon v. Longest 97 (1842) McLean none none Ky. reversed Tompkins v. Wheeler 106 (1842) Thompson none none C. C. D. Ky. affirmed Brander v. Phillips and Company 121 (1842) McLean none none C. C. S. D. Ala. affirmed Nixdorff v. Smith 132 (1842) McKinley none none C. C. D. C. reversed Randolph v. Barrett 138 (1842) McKinley none none C. C. S. D. Miss. affirmed United States v. Breward 143 (1842) Catron none none Fla. Super. Ct. certification Fulton v. McAffee 149 (1842) Taney none none Miss. dismissed United States v. Miranda 153 (1842) Wayne none none Fla. Super. Ct. reversed United States v. Low 162 (1842) Catron none none Fla. Super. Ct. affirmed Hyde and Gleises v. Booraem and Company 169 (1842) Story none none C. C. E. D. La. reversed Hobson v. McArthur's Heirs 182 (1842) Thompson none none C. C. D. Ohio reversed United States v. Hanson 196 (1842) Catron none none Fla. Super. Ct. reversed United States v. Murphy 203 (1842) Story none none C. C. S. D. N. Y. certification Hozey v. Buchanan 215 (1842) McLean none none E. D. La. reversed Milnor v. Metz 221 (1842) Catron none none C. C. D. C. affirmed United States v. Clarke's Heirs 228 (1842) Catron none none Fla. Super. Ct. affirmed City of Mobile v. Eslava 234 (1842) McLean Catron none Ala. affirmed City of Mobile v. Hallett 261 (1842) McLean none Catron Ala. affirmed Kelsey v. Hobby 269 (1842) Taney none none C. C. D. S. C. affirmed Armstrong v. Athens County 281 (1842) Catron none none Ohio affirmed United States v. Eliason 291 (1842) Daniel none none C. C. D. C. reversed Amis v. Smith 303 (1842) McKinley none none N. D. Miss. affirmed Gibson v. Chew 315 (1842) Wayne none none C. C. S. D. Miss. reversed Bradstreet v. Potter 317 (1842) Wayne none none C. C. N. D. N. Y. reversed Roach v. Hulings 319 (1842) Daniel none none C. C. D. C. affirmed Fresh v. Gilson 327 (1842) Daniel none none C. C. D. C. reversed Prouty v. Ruggles 336 (1842) Taney none none C. C. D. Mass. affirmed Wood v. United States 342 (1842) Story none none C. C. D. Md. affirmed Martin v. Waddell's Lessee 367 (1842) Taney none Thompson C. C. D. N. J. reversed Dobbins v. Erie County 435 (1842) Wayne none none Pa. reversed Parish v. Ellis 451 (1842) Taney none none Ct. App. Terr. Fla. dismissed Harpending v. Reformed Protestant Church of New York 455 (1842) Catron none none C. C. S. D. N. Y. affirmed Carpenter v. Providence Washington Insurance Company 495 (1842) Story none none C. C. D. R. I. affirmed Carver v. Hyde 513 (1842) Taney none none C. C. D. Mass. affirmed Todd v. Daniel 521 (1842) Story none none C. C. D. Me. multiple Mills v. Brown 525 (1842) Taney none none Ill. dismissed Mauran v. Bullus 528 (1842) McLean none none C. C. D. R. I. affirmed Prigg v. Pennsylvania 539 (1842) Story Taney; Thompson; Wayne; Daniel McLean Pa. reversed