List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 285

This is a list of cases reported in volume 285 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1932.

Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 285 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 285 were decided the Court comprised the following nine members:

Crowell v. Benson
Crowell v. Benson, 285 U.S. 22 (1932), is a landmark Supreme Court administrative law decision that outlined the adjudicatory authority of administrative agencies under Article III of the Constitution. The Court held that the United States Employees' Compensation Commission satisfied Fifth Amendment Due Process, and the requirements of Article III with its court-like procedures and because it invests the final power of decision in Article III courts.

Smiley v. Holm, Secretary of State of Minnesota
Smiley v. Holm, Secretary of State of Minnesota, 285 U.S. 355 (1932), involved a governor's power to veto a congressional redistricting proposal passed by a state's legislature. The Supreme Court unanimously held that the U.S. Constitution did not prohibit a state governor from vetoing his or her state's redistricting map.

Federal court system
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. The Supreme Court also had limited original jurisdiction (i.e., in which cases could be filed directly with the Supreme Court without first having been heard by a lower federal or state court). There were one or more federal District Courts and/or Circuit Courts in each state, territory, or other geographical region.

The Judiciary Act of 1891 created the United States Courts of Appeals and reassigned the jurisdiction of most routine appeals from the district and circuit courts to these appellate courts. The Act created nine new courts that were originally known as the "United States Circuit Courts of Appeals." The new courts had jurisdiction over most appeals of lower court decisions. The Supreme Court could review either legal issues that a court of appeals certified or decisions of court of appeals by writ of certiorari. On January 1, 1912, the effective date of the Judicial Code of 1911, the old Circuit Courts were abolished, with their remaining trial court jurisdiction transferred to the U.S. District Courts.

List of cases in volume 285 U.S.

 * [a] Cardozo took no part in the case