In upholding President Lincoln's blockade of Confederate ports, the Supreme Court in March 1863 sustained his "dual theory" of the Civil War. But only by a 5-4 vote.
Professor Steve -- I had a question that may be more suitable for longer treatment in a future installment: Whatever happened to all the "Cases" cases? In addition to The Prize Cases, there is The Civil Rights Cases, The Slaughter-house Cases, and several others. Why did some cases get this group moniker and some didn't? Why did it apply to some cases that were decided together (Prize) and some that weren't (Insular)? Did they get this group name later on, when they achieved "landmark" status and were highly cited, or were they known by the group name from the start? What would the name of The Prize Cases have been if it had been argued and decided under the name of the lead case, like Brown v. Board of Education was? Why weren't those consolidated cases called The Desegregation Cases or something? Wouldn't The Marriage Cases be easier to remember than Obergefell v. Hodges? When and why did the Court (or lawyers and scholars) stop using these group titles? Thanks for letting me digress into nerdery!
Professor Steve -- I had a question that may be more suitable for longer treatment in a future installment: Whatever happened to all the "Cases" cases? In addition to The Prize Cases, there is The Civil Rights Cases, The Slaughter-house Cases, and several others. Why did some cases get this group moniker and some didn't? Why did it apply to some cases that were decided together (Prize) and some that weren't (Insular)? Did they get this group name later on, when they achieved "landmark" status and were highly cited, or were they known by the group name from the start? What would the name of The Prize Cases have been if it had been argued and decided under the name of the lead case, like Brown v. Board of Education was? Why weren't those consolidated cases called The Desegregation Cases or something? Wouldn't The Marriage Cases be easier to remember than Obergefell v. Hodges? When and why did the Court (or lawyers and scholars) stop using these group titles? Thanks for letting me digress into nerdery!