Trisha Shetty (Editor)

United States v. Detroit Timber and Lumber Co.

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Dissent
  
Harlan, McKenna

Date decided
  
1906

Full case name
  
United States, appellant, v. Detroit Timber and Lumber Company, et al.; and Martin-Alexander Lumber Company, et al. appellants, v. United States

Citations
  
200 U.S. 321 (more) 26 S.Ct. 282, 50 L.Ed. 499,

Prior history
  
Cross-Appeal from the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

Majority
  
Brewer, joined by Fuller, Brown, White, Peckham, Holmes, and Day

Similar
  
Lujan v Defenders of Wildlife, Bivens v Six Unknown, Apprendi v New Jersey, Katz v United States, United States v Booker

United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Company, 200 U.S. 321 (1906), is a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States. Although the primary issue to the parties of the case was to determine ownership of 44 tracts of timberland, the case has become the standard reference to warn attorneys not to rely on the syllabus of a reported case.

Prior to Detroit Lumber, the Reporter of Decisions had mischaracterized the holding of Hawley v. Diller in its syllabus for that case. The attorneys representing the United States in Detroit Timber relied on the Hawley syllabus rather than the text of the actual decision. The Court pointed out that the headnote is not the work of the Supreme Court and cannot be relied upon to state the Court's decision. Also, for the case cited, the headnote in question had misinterpreted the scope of the decision.

All syllabi issued by the Supreme Court now include a paragraph of boilerplate text to warn readers not to rely on the syllabus for the actual meaning of the decision.

References

United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. Wikipedia