List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 234

This is a list of cases reported in volume 234 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1914.

Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 234 U.S.

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 volume 234 were decided the Court comprised the following nine members:

Notable Cases in 234 U.S.

Shreveport Rate Cases

In the Shreveport Rate Cases, 234 U.S. 342 (1914), the Supreme Court interpreted Congress's power under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution of the United States. The Court held that the federal government's power to regulate interstate commerce also allowed it to regulate purely intrastate commerce when control of the former was not possible without control of the latter. Because the Court consolidated several related appeals, they are sometimes collectively known as the "Shreveport Rate Cases" although the Court issued only one ruling.

Citation style

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.