How did the Supreme Court rule in In re Debs in 1895?

On May 27, 1895, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous 9–0 ruling in In re Debs, which upheld the federal government's use of an injunction to suppress the Pullman Strike.12

Justice David J. Brewer, writing for the court, rejected the arguments presented by the defense—which included the claim that the defendants were denied their constitutional right to a trial by jury. The court affirmed that the federal government possessed the authority to protect interstate commerce and the delivery of the U.S. mail from obstruction.12

By ruling that federal courts could use injunctions to prevent irreparable damage to property and public rights, the decision significantly expanded the "equity jurisdiction" of the judiciary. This ruling provided the government and business interests with a powerful legal tool to suppress labor strikes for the next four decades, until the passage of the Norris–La Guardia Act in 1932.1