United States Commerce Court

The Commerce Court of the United States was a short-lived federal trial court. It was created by the Mann-Elkins Act in 1910[1] and abolished three years later.[2][3]:278–80 The Commerce Court was a specialized court, given jurisdiction over cases arising from orders of the Interstate Commerce Commission and empowered with judicial review of those orders. The United States Supreme Court was given appellate jurisdiction over the Commerce Court.

The modern United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, created in 1982, has a purpose similar to the Commerce Court, although the Federal Circuit has broader jurisdiction.

Organization

The Commerce Court also had one of the more unusual structures in United States judicial history. There were five judges serving staggered five-year terms on the Commerce Court. These judges were, nonetheless, Article III judges, and were to be reassigned to an appellate court when their term on the Commerce Court expired. Moreover, even while they served on the Commerce Court, they also served as an at-large appellate judge and could be assigned by the Chief Justice of the United States to any appellate court to help relieve the workload.

Once the court was abolished, the four remaining judges of the court served out their lifetime appointment as at-large appellate judges.[3]:279 (The fifth judge of the court, Robert Archbald, had been impeached and removed from office.)

Judges

All of the judges who served on the Commerce Court were appointed by President William Howard Taft. The court had no chief judge, and no judge on the court achieved senior status. All of the judges ended their service with the court upon its abolition, except for Robert Wodrow Archbald, who was impeached and convicted for corrupt practices, specifically soliciting and receiving gifts from persons doing business before the court.

JudgeStateBorn/DiedBegan active
service*		Ended active
service
Martin Augustine KnappNY1843–192319101913
Robert Wodrow ArchbaldPA1848–192619111913
John Emmett CarlandSD1853–192219111913
William Henry HuntMT1857–194919111913
Julian William MackIL1866–194319111913

* This column refers only to the judges' terms in the Commerce Court.

Cases
  • The Intermountain Rate Case, 191 Fed 856 (1911)
  • The Pipe Line Cases', 204 Fed 798 (1913)
  • Shreveport Case, 205 Fed. 380 (1913)
  • Tap Line Cases, 209 Fed. 244 (1913)
  • Louisville & Nashville R. R. Co. v Interstate Commerce Commission, 195 Fed. 541 (1912)*
  • Procter & Gamble Co. v. United States, 188 Fed. 221 (1911)
  • Goodrich Transit Co. v Interstate Commerce Commission, 190 Fed. 943 (1911)
  • Los Angeles Switching Cases, 188 Fed Fed 229 (1911)

94 cases were docketed in the Commerce Court. 43 decisions were delivered, 22 appeals.

References
  1. Mann-Elkins Act, 61st Congress, 2nd session, ch. 309, 36 Stat. 539, enacted June 18, 1910.
  2. Urgent Deficiency Act, 63rd Congress, 1st session, ch. 32, 38 Stat. 208, October 22, 1913. Effective December 31, 1913.
  3. Gilmore, Eugene A.; Wermuth, William C. (1917). "III. The Various United States Courts and their Jurisdiction: The Commerce Court (Abolished).". Modern American Law. Chicago: Blackstone Institute.
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