The size of the Court is not specified; the Constitution leaves it to Congress to set the number of justices.

When the cases in volume 290 were decided the Court comprised the following nine members: In Welch v. Helvering, 290 U.S. 111 (1933), the Supreme Court ruled on the difference between business and personal expenses and the difference between ordinary business deductions and capital expenses.

In Home Building and Loan Association v. Blaisdell, 290 U.S. 398 (1934), the Supreme Court held that Minnesota's suspension of creditors' remedies was not in violation of the Contract Clause of the United States Constitution.

Blaisdell was decided during the depth of the Great Depression and has been criticized by modern conservative and libertarian commentators.

The Supreme Court upheld the statute, reasoning that the emergency conditions created by the Great Depression "may justify the exercise of [the State's] continuing and dominant protective power notwithstanding interference with contracts.