Cline took part in the influential Brancusi v. United States decision, which recognized Constantin Brancusi's sculpture as duty-free art rather than a taxable manufactured object.
In late 1928, shortly after joining the bench, Judge Genevieve R. Cline participated in the landmark case Brancusi v. United States, one of the most celebrated decisions in the history of the U.S. Customs Court. The case concerned the modernist sculpture "Bird in Flight" by Romanian artist Constantin Brancusi, which U.S. customs officials had initially classified as a manufactured metal object—subject to import duty—rather than as a work of art, which would have entered the country duty-free.
The case became a cultural sensation, as it forced the court to grapple with fundamental questions about the definition of art itself, particularly in light of rapidly evolving modernist and abstract artistic movements that challenged traditional representational sculpture. Cline's early involvement and concurrence in the court's deliberations, preserved in National Archives records, contributed to what would become a groundbreaking ruling recognizing Brancusi's work as legitimate art.
The eventual decision in favor of the sculpture's artistic status set an important legal precedent for how customs courts would treat modern and abstract art in subsequent import cases, effectively expanding the legal definition of "art" to include non-representational works. Cline's participation in this case, so early in her tenure, demonstrated her judicial engagement with cutting-edge and culturally significant legal questions, cementing her reputation as a thoughtful jurist willing to navigate complex intersections of law, commerce, and culture.