McCray v. United States, 195 U.S. 27; 24 S. Ct. 769; 49 L. Ed. 78 (1904) Facts—McCray was sued by the United States for a statutory penalty of $50. He purchased for resale a fifty-pound package of oleomargarine artificially colored…
Northern Securities Co. v. United States, 193 U.S. 197; 24 S. Ct. 436; 48 L. Ed. 679 (1904) Facts—The Northern Pacific and Great Northern Railroad Companies purchased most of the stock of the Burlington Railroad. The first two companies ran…
Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan and Trust Co., 158 U.S. 601; 15 S. Ct. 912; 39 L. Ed. 1108 (1895) Facts—Charles Pollock, a citizen of the state of Massachusetts, filed a bill on behalf of himself and all other stockholders of…
Legal Tender Cases (Knox v. Lee; Parker v. Davis), 12 Wallace (78 U.S.) 457; 20 L. Ed. 287 (1871) Facts—Congress provided for the issuance of paper money and made such money legal tender for the payment of private debts. Knox…
Collector v. Day (Buffington v. Day), 11 Wallace (78 U.S.) 113; 20 L. Ed. 122 (1871) Facts—Judge Day of the Probate Court for Barnstable County, Massachusetts, brought a suit against Buffington, collector of internal revenue, to recover federal income tax…
Veazie Bank v. Fenno, 8 Wallace (75 U.S.) 533; 19 L. Ed. 482 (1869) Facts—In 1866, Congress passed an act imposing a tax of 10 percent on notes of private persons, state banks, and state banking associations. The Veazie Bank…
Hylton v. United States, 3 Dallas (3 U.S.) 171; 1 L. Ed. 556 (1796) Facts—This was a case brought from the circuit court in Virginia challenging the 1794 congressional law imposing a tax on carriages. It was stipulated that Hylton…
Barenblatt v. United States, 360 U.S. 109; 79 S. Ct. 1081; 3 L. Ed. 2d 1114 (1959) Facts—Barenblatt, a one-time college professor, was called as a witness before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, which was investigating…
Stafford v. Wallace, 258 U.S. 495; 42 S. Ct. 397; 66 L. Ed. 735 (1922) Facts—Stafford and Company, engaged in the buying and selling of livestock, brought suit against Secretary of Agriculture H. C. Wallace to prohibit him from enforcing…
Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority, 297 U.S. 288; 56 S. Ct. 466; 80 L. Ed. 688 (1936) Facts—The TVA, an agency of the federal government, entered into a contract with the Alabama Power Company, providing for the purchase by the…