Law

• Judicial Review:  The power of the courts to determine the constitutionality of the acts of government makes the Supreme Court the final authority on the meaning of the Constitution. 
• Limited Government:  The principle of limited government is often called constitutionalism--the insistence that government must be conducted according to constitutional principles, that government itself must obey the law. All of government, every public official, and every public agency at every level in this country is bound to honor the principle of limited government. The courts, however, stand as the chief defender of that principle. 
• Checks and Balances:  The Constitution guarantees the independence of the federal judiciary. Federal judges are appointed by the President, subject to confirmation by the Senate. The Constitution says that they "shall hold their Offices during good Behavior"--in effect, for an unlimited term. 

The Framers provided for a national system of courts to correct a major weakness in the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution provides for a Supreme Court and for other courts created by Congress. The federal courts operate in a dual court system, alongside the courts of each of the fifty States. 

During the years the Articles of Confederation were in force (1781 - 1789), there were no national courts and no national judiciary. The laws of the Unite States were interpreted and applied as each State saw fit, and sometimes not at all. Disputes between States and between persons who lived in different States were decided, if at all, by the courts in one of the States involved. Often, decisions by the courts in one State were ignored by the courts in the other States. 

Alexander Hamilton spoke to the point in The Federalist No. 22. He described "the want of a judiciary power" as a "circumstance which crowns the defects of the Confederation." Arguing the need for a national court system, he added:  "Laws are a dead letter without courts to expound and define their true meaning and operation." 

The Framers created a national judiciary for the United States in a single sentence in the Constitution:  

"The judicial Power of the Unite States shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish."  (Article III, Section 1) 

Congress also is given the expressed power "to constitute Tribunal inferior to the supreme Court" in Article I, Section 8, Clause 9. 

Keep in mind this important point:  There are two separate court systems in the United States. On one hand, the national judiciary spans the country with its more than 120 courts. One the other hand, each of the 50 States has its own system of courts. Their numbers run well into the thousands. These State courts hear most of the cases in this country. 

The Constitution creates the Supreme Court and leaves to Congress the creation of the inferior courts--the lower federal courts, those beneath the Supreme Court. Over the years, Congress has created two distinct types of federal courts: 

1. The constitutional courts
2. The special courts 

The diagram below sets out these several federal courts. 

The constitutional courts are the federal courts that Congress has formed under Article III to exercise "the judicial Power of the United States." Together with the Supreme Court, they now include the courts of appeals, the district courts, and the U.S. Court of International Trade. The constitutional courts are also called the regular courts or Article III courts. 

The special courts do not exercise the broad "judicial Power of the United States." Rather, they have been created by Congress to hear cases arising out of some of the expressed powers given to Congress in Article I. The special courts hear a much narrower range of cases than those that may come before the constitutional courts. 

These special courts sometimes are called the legislative courts. Today, they include the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Tax Court, the various territorial courts, and the courts of the District of Columbia. You will look at the unique features of these courts later in this chapter. 

The Constitution created only the Supreme Court, giving Congress the power to create any lower, or "inferior," courts, as needed. 

The Supreme Court of the United States is the only court specifically created by the Constitution, in Article III, Section 1. The Court is made up of the Chief Justice of the United States, whose office is also established by the Constitution, and eight associate justices. The Framers quite purposely placed the Court on an equal plane with the President and Congress. As the highest court in the land the Supreme Court stands as the court of last resort in all questions of federal law. That is, it is the final authority in any case involving any question arising under the Constitution, an act of Congress, or a treaty of the United States. 

Remember, most courts in this country, both federal and State, may exercise the critically important power of judicial review. They have the extraordinary power to decide the constitutionality of an act of government, whether executive, legislative, or judicial. The ultimate exercise of that power rests with the Supreme Court of the United States. That single fact makes the Supreme Court the final authority on the meaning of the Constitution. 

The Constitution does not in so many words provide for the power of judicial review. Still, there is little doubt that the Framers intended that the federal courts--and, in particular, the Supreme Court--should have this power. 

The Supreme Court has both original and appellate jurisdiction. Most of its cases, however, come on appeal--from the lower federal courts and from the highest State courts. 

Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution spells out two classes of cases that may be heard by the High Court in its original jurisdiction: 

1. Those to which a State is party 
2. Those affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls 

Congress cannot enlarge on this constitutional grant of original jurisdiction. 

The Court shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over: 

1. All controversies involving two or more States.  
2. All cases brought against ambassadors or other public ministers, but not consuls. 

Some 8,000 cases are now appealed to the Supreme Court each year. Of these, the Court accepts only a few hundred for decision. In most cases, petitions for review are denied, usually because most of the justices agree with the decision of the lower court or believe that the case involves no significant point of law. The Court selects those cases that it does hear according to "the rule of four": At least four of its nine justices must agree that a case should be put on the Court's docket. 

The Court sits from the first Monday in October to sometime the following June or July. Each term is identified by the year in which it began. Thus, the 2024 term ran from October 2, 2023 into the early summer of 2024. 

• Oral Arguments:  Once the Supreme Court accepts a case, it sets a date on which that case will be heard. As a rule, the justices consider cases in two-week cycles from October to early May. They hear oral arguments in several cases for two weeks; then the justices recess for two weeks to consider those cases and handle other Court business. 
• Briefs:  Briefs are written documents filed with the Court before oral arguments begin. These detailed statements support one side of a case, presenting arguments built largely on relevant facts and the citation of previous cases. Many briefs run to hundreds of pages. 
• The Court in Conference:  On most Wednesdays and Fridays through a term, the justices meet in conference. There, in closest secrecy, they consider the cases in which they have heard oral arguments. 
• Opinions:  If the Chief Justice is in the majority on a case, he assigns the writing of the Court's opinion. When the Chief Justice is in the minority, the assignment is handled by the senior associate justice on the majority side. 
  • The Court's opinion is often called the majority opinion. Officially called the Opinion of the Court, it announces the Court's decision in a case and sets out the reasoning on which it is based. 
  • The Court's written opinions are exceedingly valuable. The majority opinions stand as precedents, or examples to  e followed in similar cases as they arise in the lower courts or reach the Supreme Court. 
  • Often, one or more of the justices who agree with the Court's decision may write a concurring opinion--to add or emphasize a point that was not made in the majority opinion. The concurring opinions may bring the Supreme Court to modify its present stand in future cases. 
  • One or more dissenting opinions are often written by those justices who do not agree with the Court's majority decision. Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes once described dissenting opinions as "an appeal to the brooding spirit of the law, to the intelligence of a future day." On rare occasions, the Supreme Court does reverse itself. The minority opinion of today could become the Court's majority position in the future. 

The courts of appeals were created by Congress in 1891. They were established as "gatekeepers" to relieve th Supreme Court of much of the burden of hearing appeals from the district courts. Those appeals had become so numerous that the Supreme Court was then three years behind its docket--its list of cases to be heard. 

There are now 12 courts of appeals in the judicial system. The United States is divided into 12 judicial circuits, including the District of Columbia, with one court of appeals for each circuit.

Altogether, 179 circuit judges sit on these appellate courts. In addition, a justice of the Supreme Court is assigned to each of them. 

Each of the courts of appeals usually sits in panels of three judges. However, occasionally, to hear an important case, a court will sit en banc--that is, with all of the judges for that circuit participating. 

The courts of appeals have only appellate jurisdiction. They hear cases on appeal from the lower federal courts. Most appeals come from the district courts within their circuits, but some do come from the U.S. Tax Court and the territorial courts. The courts of appeals also hear appeals from the decisions of several federal regulatory agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

The courts of appeals now handle more than 55,000 cases a year. Their decisions are final, unless the Supreme Court chooses to hear appeals taken from them. 

• William H. Hastie served in the Third Circuit Court of the U.S. Virgin Islands from October 21, 1949 until May 31, 1971. He was appointed by President Harry S. Truman (D). 

• Thurgood Marshall served in the Second Circuit Court of Maryland from October 5, 1961 until August 23, 1965. He was appointed by President John F. Kennedy (D). 
• Wade H. McCree served in the Sixth Circuit Court of Michigan from September 7, 1966 until March 28, 1977. He was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson (D). 
• Spottswood W. Robinson III served in the D.C. Circuit Court of the District of Columbia from November 3, 1966 until September 1, 1989. He was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson (D).

• A. Leon Higginbotham Jr. served in the Third Circuit Court of Pennsylvania from October 11, 1977 until January 31, 1991. He was appointed by President Jimmy Carter (D). 
• Damon Keith served on the Sixth Circuit Court of Michigan from October 21, 1977 until May 1, 1995. He was appointed by President Jimmy Carter (D).
• Theodore McMillian served on the Eighth Circuit Court of Missouri from September 23, 1978 until July 1, 2003. He was appointed by President Jimmy Carter (D).
• Amalya Lyle Kearse served on the Second Circuit Court of New York from June 21, 1979 until June 11, 2002. He was appointed by President Jimmy Carter (D).
• Joseph W. Hatchett served on the Fifth Circuit Court of Florida from July 13, 1979 until October 1, 1981. He was appointed by President Jimmy Carter (D).
• Jerome Farris served on the Ninth Circuit Court of Washington from September 27, 1979 until March 4, 1995. He was appointed by President Jimmy Carter (D).
• Nathaniel R. Jones served on the Sixth Circuit Court of Ohio from October 5, 1979 until May 13, 1995. He was appointed by President Jimmy Carter (D).
• Cecil F. Poole served on the Ninth Circuit Court of California from November 27, 1979 until January 15, 1996. She was appointed by President Jimmy Carter (D).

• Harry T. Edwards served on the D.C. Circuit Court of the District of Columbia from February 20, 1980 until November 3, 2005. He was appointed by President Jimmy Carter (D).
• Joseph W. Hatchett served on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Florida from October 1, 1981 until May 14, 1999. He was appointed by President Jimmy Carter (D).
• Lawrence W. Pierce served on the Second Circuit Court of New York from November 18, 1981 until January 1, 1990. He was appointed by President Ronald Reagan (R). 

• Clarence Thomas served on the D.C. Circuit of the District of Columbia from March 12, 1990 until October 23, 1991 when he was elevated to the Supreme Court. He was appointed by President George H.W. Bush (R).
• Timothy K. Lewis served on the Third Circuit Cout of Pennsylvania from October 9, 1992 until June 30, 1999. He was appointed by President George H.W. Bush (R).
• Judith W. Rogers served on the D.C. Circuit Court of the District of Columbia from March 11, 1994 until September 1, 2022. She was appointed by President Bill Clinton (D).
• Carl E. Stewart served on the Fifth Circuit Court of Louisiana from May 9, 1994 to today. He was appointed by President Bill Clinton (D).
• Theodore McKee served on the Third Circuit Court of Pennsylvania from June 9, 1994 until October 20, 2022. He was appointed by President Bill Clinton (D). 
• R. Guy Cole Jr. served on the Sixth Circuit Court of Ohio from December 26, 1995 to today. He was appointed by President Bill Clinton (D). 
• Eric L. Clay served on the Sixth Circuit Court of Michigan from August 1, 1997 to today. He was appointed by President Bill Clinton (D).
• Charles R. Wilson served on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Florida from August 9, 1999 to today. He was appointed by President Bill Clinton (D).
• Ann Claire Williams served on the Seventh Circuit Court of Illinois from November 15, 1999 until June 5, 2017. He was appointed by President Bill Clinton (D). 

• Johnnie B. Rawlinson served on the Ninth Circuit Court of Nevada from July 26, 2000 to today. He was appointed by President Bill Clinton (D). 
• Roger Gregory served on the Fourth Circuit Court of Virginia from December 27, 2000 to today.  He was appointed by President Bill Clinton (D). 
• Barrington D. Parker Jr. served on the Second Circuit Court of New York from October 16, 2001 until October 10, 2009. He was appointed by President George W. Bush (R). 
• Lavenski Smith served on the Eighth Circuit Court of Arkansas from July 19, 2002 to today. He was appointed by President George W. Bush (R). 
• Allyson K. Duncan served on the Fourth Circuit Court of North Carolina from August 15, 2003 until March 21, 2019. She was appointed by President George W. Bush (R). 
• Janice Rogers Brown served on the D.C. Circuit Court of the District of Columbia from June 10, 2005 until August 31, 2017. She was appointed by President George W. Bush (R). 
• Jerome Holmes served on the Tenth Circuit Court of Oklahoma from August 9, 2006 to today. He was appointed by President George W. Bush (R). 
• Andre M. Davis served on the Fourth Circuit Court of Maryland from November 10, 2009 until February 28, 2014. He was appointed by President Barack Obama (D). 

• Joseph A. Greenaway Jr. served on the Third Circuit Court of New Jersey from February 12, 2010 until June 15, 2023. He was appointed by President Barack Obama (D). 
• O. Rogeriee Thompson served on the First Circuit Court of Rhode Island from March 30, 2010 until September 21, 2022. She was appointed by President Barack Obama (D). 
• James Andrew Wynn served on the Fourth Circuit Court of North Carolina from August 10, 2010 to today. He was appointed by President Barack Obama (D). 
• Raymond Lohier served on the Second Circuit Court of New York from December 20, 2010 to today. He was appointed by President Barack Obama (D). 
• James E. Graves Jr. served on the Fifth Circuit Court of Mississippi from February 15, 2011 to today. He was appointed by President Barack Obama (D). 
• Bernice B. Donald served on the Sixth Circuit Court of Tennessee from September 8, 2011 until September 27, 2022. She was appointed by President Barack Obama (D). 
• Paul J. Watford served on the Ninth Circuit Court of California from May 22, 2012 until May 31, 2023. He was appointed by President Barack Obama (D). 
• Robert L. Wilkins served on the D.C. Circuit Court of the District of Columbia from January 15, 2014 to today. He was appointed by President Barack Obama (D). 

• Ketanji Brown Jackson served on the D.C. Circuit of the District of Columbia from June 17, 2021 until June 29, 2022 when she was elevated to the Supreme Court. She was appointed by President Joe Biden (D). 
• Candace Jackson-Akiwumi served on the Seventh Circuit Court of Illinois from July 1, 2021 to today. She was appointed by President Joe Biden (D). 
• Tiffany P. Cunningham serves on the Federal Circuit Court of the District of Columbia from August 6, 2021 to today. She was appointed by President Joe Biden (D). 
• Eunice C. Lee serves on the Second Circuit Court of New York from August 16, 2021 to today. She was appointed by President Joe Biden (D). 
• Holly A. Thomas serves on the Ninth Circuit Court of California from January 24, 2022 to today. She was appointed by President Joe Biden (D). 
• Stephanie D. Davis serves on the Sixth Circuit Court of Michigan from June 14, 2022 to today. She was appointed by President Joe Biden (D). 
• J. Michelle Childs serves on the District of Columbia Circuit Court of the District of Columbia from July 25, 2022 to today. She was appointed by President Joe Biden (D). 
• Andre Mathis serves on the Sixth Circuit Court of Tennessee from September 27, 2022 to today. He was appointed by President Joe Biden (D). 
• Arianna J. Freeman serves on the Third Circuit Court of Pennsylvania from October 20, 2022 to today. She was appointed by President Joe Biden (D). 
• Doris Pryor serves on the Seventh Circuit Court of Indiana from December 9, 2022 to today. She was appointed by President Joe Biden (D). 
• Tamika Montgomery-Reeves serves on the Third Circuit Court of Delaware from February 7, 2023 to today. She was appointed by President Joe Biden (D). 
• Dana Douglas serves on the Fifth Circuit Court of Louisiana from December 16, 2022 to today. She was appointed by President Joe Biden (D). 
• DeAndrea G. Benjamin serves on the Fourth Circuit Court of South Carolina from February 21, 2023 to today. She was appointed by President Joe Biden (D). 
• Nancy Abudu serves on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Georgia from May 26, 2023 to today. She was appointed by President Joe Biden (D). 
• Embry Kidd has been designated to serve on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Georgia. He was appointed by President Joe Biden (D). 

The United States district courts are the federal trial courts. Their 665 judges handle more than 300,000 cases a year, about 80 percent of the federal caseload. The district courts were created by Congress in the Judiciary Act of 1789. There are now 94 of them. 

The fifty States are divided into 89 federal judicicial disticts, and there are also federal district courts for Washinton, D.C., Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Each State forms at least one judicial district. Some are divided into two or more districts, however--usually because of the larger amount of judicial business there. At least two judges are assigned to each district, but many districts have several. Thus, New York is divided into four judicial districts, one of them the United States Judicial District for Southern New York, now has28 judges. 

Cases tried in the district courts are most often heard by a single judge. However, certain cases may be heard by a three-judge panel. 

The district courts have original jurisdiction over most cases that are heard in the federal courts (except those few cases that fall within the original jurisdiction of the United States Supreme Court and those cases that are heard by the U.S. Court of International Trade or by one of the special courts). Thus, these district courts re the principal trial courts in the federal court system. 

The district courts hear a wide range of both criminal cases and civil cases. A criminal case, in the federal courts, is one in which a defendant is tried for committing some action that Congress has declared by law to be a federal crime. A federal civil case involves some noncriminal matter, such as a dispute over the terms of a contract or a claim of patent infringement. The district courts try cases ranging from bank robbery and mail fraud to counterfeiting and tax evasion. They hear civil cases arising under bankruptcy, postal, tax, labor relations, public lands, civil rights, and other laws of the United States. The district courts are the only federal courts that regularly use grand juries to indict defendants and petit juries to try defendants. 

Most of the decisions made in the 94 federal district courts are final. However, some cases are appealed to the court of appeals in that judicial circuit or, in a few instances, directly to the Supreme court. 

Congress has created two other Article III courts. They are the U.S. Court of International Trade and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. 

The Trade Court was created originally in 1890 as the Board of United States General Appraisers. That body became the Court of Customs in 1926, and Congress restructured and renamed that court in 1980. 

The Court of International Trade now has nine judges, one of whom is its chief judge. It hears cifil cases arising out of tariff and other trade-related laws. The judges of the Trade Court sit in panels of three and often hold trials at such major ports as New Orleans, San Francisco, Boston, and New York. Appeals from decisions of the Trade Court are taken to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. 

Congress created the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 1982. It established the new court to centralize, and so speed up, the handling of appeals in certain kinds of civil cases. This appellate court, unlike the 12 other federal courts of appeals, hears cases from all across the country. That is, it has a nationwide jurisdiction. 

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit hears appeals from several different courts. Many of its cases come from the U.S. Court of International Trade, and others from the U.S. Court of Feral Claims and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, two of the special courts. It also hears appeals in patent, trademark, and copyright cases coming from the 94 district courts around the country. Then, too, it takes cases that arise out of administrative rulings made by the International Trade Commission, the Patent and Trademark Office in the Department of Commerce, and the Merit Systems Protection Board. 

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has 12 judges. It sits in panels of three or more judges on each case an also may hear or rehear a case en banc. The court usually hears cases in Washington, D.C, but it may also do so wherever any of the other federal courts of appeals sits. Appeals from the court may be taken to the Supreme Court, but they rarelyare. 

• Magruder's American Government, by William A. McClenaghan 

• U.S. Federal Courts
• Federal Judicial Center
• U.S. Attorneys Office District of Massachusetts
• Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA)
• The National Black Lawyers Top 100