http://www.oyez.org/cases/1901-1939/1937/ U.S. Supreme Court Cases, presented by The Oyez Project (www.oyez.org) en-us <p>Tompkins brought a lawsuit in federal court in New York against the Erie Railroad for personal injuries. Tompkins had been walking along the railroad tracks in Pennsylvania when he was hit by an open railcar door. Under Pennsylvania law, where the accident occurred, the railroad owed no duty to Tompkins. But this was the "law" according to the Pennsylvania courts. There was no statute of the state legislature declaring the law. In the federal courts, the railroad had a duty to take care. A federal court jury awarded Tompkins damages. The verdict was upheld on appeal.</p> http://www.oyez.org/cases/1901-1939/1937/1937_367/ <p>Frank Palko had been charged with first-degree murder. He was convicted instead of second-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. The state of Connecticut appealed and won a new trial; this time the court found Palko guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced him to death.</p> http://www.oyez.org/cases/1901-1939/1937/1937_135/ <p>A South Carolina law banned from its state highways trucks which were more than 90 inches wide and weighed over 20,000 pounds.</p> http://www.oyez.org/cases/1901-1939/1937/1937_161/ <p>A 1923 act of Congress banned the interstate shipment of "filled milk" (milk with skimmed milk and vegetable oil added). A manufacturer, indicted for shipping filled milk, challenged the law.</p> http://www.oyez.org/cases/1901-1939/1937/1937_640/