This is a list of cases reported in volume 273 of United States Reports, decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1927. Justices of the Supreme Court at the time of volume 273 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 273 were decided the Court comprised the following nine members: Notable Cases in 273 U.S. McGrain v. Daugherty McGrain v. Daugherty, 273 U.S. 135 (1927), was a challenge to Mally Daugherty's contempt conviction and arrest, which happened when he failed to appear before a Senate committee investigating the failure of his brother, Attorney General Harry Daugherty, to investigate the perpetrators of the Teapot Dome Scandal. The Supreme Court upheld his conviction, holding for the first time that under the Constitution, Congress has the power to compel witnesses to appear and provide testimony. Farrington v. Tokushige Farrington v. Tokushige, 273 U.S. 284 (1927), was a case in which the Supreme Court struck down the Territory of Hawaii's statute making it illegal for schools to teach foreign languages without a permit, as it violated the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment. Tumey v. Ohio In Tumey v. Ohio, 273 U.S. 510 (1927), the Supreme Court struck down an Ohio law that financially rewarded public officials for successfully prosecuting cases related to Prohibition. The Court's decision in this case continues to provide precedent today in many cases involving judicial impartiality. Nixon v. Herndon Nixon v. Herndon, 273 U.S. 536 (1927), is a United States Supreme Court decision striking down a 1923 Texas law forbidding blacks from voting in the Texas Democratic Party primary. Due to the limited amount of Republican Party activity in Texas at the time following the suppression of black voting through poll taxes, the Democratic Party primary was essentially the only competitive process