Supreme Court of the United States, 1941

The Court held that the railroad was not the producer of coal extracted under coordinated leases and an independent contractor arrangement, and therefore was not entitled to the producer-consumer exemption.

The Court reversed the court of appeals and upheld the Director’s denial of Seaboard’s exemption from the Bituminous Coal Code. It held that Congress committed the producer determination to the administrative agency and that the agency’s conclusion was entitled to respect because the proceeding afforded a fair hearing…

The Court, through Justice Black, reversed the contempt judgments against Bridges and the Los Angeles Times petitioners. Constitutional protections of speech and press apply to out-of-court commentary on pending litigation; a publication's inherent or reasonable tendency to interfere with justice does not suffice to…

The Court reversed Edwards's conviction for knowingly bringing an indigent nonresident into California, holding that the statute imposed an unconstitutional barrier to interstate commerce.

The Court held that § 265 of the Judicial Code does not forbid a federal court from enjoining state‑court proceedings to protect and give effect to its own decree, reversing the lower courts that had upheld such injunctions.

The Supreme Court reversed the lower courts, holding that a federal court may issue an injunction to stay state‑court proceedings that would relitigate issues already decided in the federal action, and that this power is not barred by 28 U.S.C. § 379 (formerly § 265) except for the bankruptcy exception.

Justice Murphy delivered the opinion of the Court reversing the Supreme Court of North Dakota. The Court held that § 26 of the Federal Farm Loan Act exempts federal land banks from North Dakota's sales tax on building materials purchased to repair and improve properties acquired through foreclosure.

The Court held that diversity jurisdiction requires alignment of parties according to their actual interests in the principal purpose of the suit and the primary and controlling matter in dispute.

The Supreme Court held that the Alabama sales tax imposed on lumber sold to contractors under a cost‑plus contract is a tax on the contractors, not on the United States, and therefore does not violate the constitutional immunity of the United States from state taxation.

The Court held that a federal court exercising diversity jurisdiction must apply the conflict-of-laws rules of the state in which it sits, rather than independently select the better conflicts rule.

The Court reversed the judgment sustaining a demurrer to two indictment counts arising from election commissioners’ alleged alteration and false counting of congressional primary ballots.

Justice Stone delivered the Court's opinion holding that a plaintiff who files suit in state court cannot remove the suit on diversity grounds under § 28 of the Judicial Code merely because the defendant asserts an independent counterclaim exceeding the jurisdictional amount.

The Supreme Court held that income assigned by a trust beneficiary to others is taxable to the assignor, not the assignees, under the 1928 Revenue Act. The Court reversed the lower courts, emphasizing that the power to dispose of income is equivalent to ownership and that anticipatory assignments constitute…

The Supreme Court held that federal courts must follow the Mississippi Supreme Court’s interpretation of the state statute of limitations and that the Railway Labor Act does not require exhaustion of administrative remedies before suing for wrongful discharge.

Chief Justice Hughes delivered the opinion of the Court affirming convictions for participating in a street parade without a permit. As authoritatively construed by the state court, the statute confined licensing decisions to nondiscriminatory regulation of time, place, and manner for public convenience rather than…

The Court held that the Tucker Act did not authorize a district court to entertain a judgment creditor’s contract suit against the United States when recovery required adjudicating the creditor’s rights against a private judgment debtor.

The Court held that the reorganization plan could not be approved because the record lacked the valuation and accounting findings necessary to determine the assets available to each claimant, the enterprise's earning capacity, and the fairness and feasibility of the proposed distributions.

The Supreme Court reversed the permanent injunction that barred peaceful picketing and persuasion by persons who were not the employer’s employees, holding that such a ban violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech protected through the Fourteenth Amendment.

The Court held that a state rule prohibiting peaceful picketing or persuasion by persons who are not employees of the employer violates the First Amendment, and therefore reversed the Illinois injunction. Justice Roberts dissented, arguing the writ should be dismissed or the judgment affirmed.

Justice Murphy delivered the opinion of the Court, holding that an insurer's declaratory-judgment complaint presented an actual controversy with an injured claimant even though the claimant had not yet obtained judgment against the insured.

Justice Stone delivered the opinion of the Court, reversing the district court’s judgment quashing an indictment under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Congress may prohibit interstate shipment of goods produced under substandard labor conditions and regulate wages and hours in their production, both as a means of…

The Court held that a bankruptcy court administering a Chapter X reorganization may deny compensation to fiduciaries and their counsel who represent conflicting interests without proof that the conflicts caused fraud, unfairness, or actual injury.

Justice Black's opinion for the Court held that Congress's comprehensive alien-registration system precluded enforcement of Pennsylvania's additional registration requirements, affirming the injunction against the state law.

Justice Douglas delivered the unanimous opinion holding that Colorado could not deny full faith and credit to a Wyoming judgment because of an inconsistency between its findings and decree if Wyoming had jurisdiction.

Chief Justice Hughes delivered the unanimous opinion holding that a federal court applying state law must follow the decisions of an intermediate state court absent more convincing evidence of the state's law.

The Supreme Court reversed the lower courts and held that renewal commissions assigned before the taxable year are includable in the assignor’s gross income in the year the commissions are paid to the assignee, following the reasoning of Helvering v. Horst.

The Supreme Court held that renewal commissions assigned after an agent’s termination are taxable to the assignor in the year the commissions are paid, concluding that an assignment does not relieve the taxpayer from income tax liability.