CHAPTER XVIII.

JURISDICTION OF THE FEDERAL COURTS.

SECTION 1. IN GENERAL.

§ 351. Classification of Federal judicial powers. The Constitution, Article III, section 2, § 1, provides: "The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority; to all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls; to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; to controversies to which the United States shall be a party; to controversies between two or more states; between a state and citizens of another state; between citizens of different states; between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants of different states; and between a state or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens or subjects.

It will be noticed that practically the whole of this grant of judicial power falls into two great classes: (1) cases dependent upon the character of the question litigated; (2) cases dependent upon the character of the parties to the litigation.

The Federal courts are given jurisdiction of all cases involving the following questions, no matter who are the

parties to the suit: (a) cases in law and equity arising under the Federal Constitution, laws, or treaties; (b) cases of admiralty or maritime jurisdiction.

Likewise, the Federal courts are given jurisdiction of cases having the following parties, no matter what the suit may be about: (a) when ambassadors, public ministers, or consuls are parties; (b) when the United States is a party; (c) when two or more states are antagonistic parties; (d) when a state and citizens of another state are antagonistic parties; (e) when citizens of different states are antagonistic parties; (f) when a state or its citizens on one side and foreign states or aliens on the other are antagonistic parties.

§ 352. Objects of the various judicial powers. The necessity of securing a uniform and authoritative construction of the Federal Constitution, laws, and treaties was a sufficient reason for giving the Federal courts jurisdiction of questions involving the construction or enforcement of these. Such questions are usually called "Federal questions" and will hereafter be referred to shortly by that name. Obviously, too, suits to which the United States is a party should be in its courts. The national government alone has dealings with foreign nations, and so it is appropriate that its courts should deal with cases affecting the representatives of foreign nations; and, as admiralty matters are largely concerned with international intercourse and with transactions on the high seas, where vessels are under the flag of the nation rather than that of a state, similar considerations made it advisable to give the Federal courts jurisdiction of such matters.

Before the territory west of the Alleghanies was ceded to the United States, there had been conflicting claims to portions of it on behalf of different states, and in some cases bloodshed had occurred between rival groups of settlers claiming the same land under conflicting grants. To secure an impartial tribunal for the settlement of such claims the Federal courts were given jurisdiction of them.

As the states may not go to war or make treaties with each other or with foreign nations, it was necessary that the Federal courts should be given jurisdiction of disputes that might arise between such parties; and to prevent the possibilities of local prejudice in the state courts, the provisions were added which gave the Federal courts jurisdiction of suits between a state or its citizens on one side, and citizens of different states or aliens on the other.

§ 353. Power of Congress in organization of Federal courts. The Constitution, Article III, section 1, provides: "The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in one Supreme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The judges, both of the Supreme and inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at stated times, receive for their services, a compensation, which shall not be diminished during their continuance in office."

The power of Congress over the organization of the Federal courts is very great. While it may not directly abolish the Supreme Court it may increase or diminish the number of its judges at pleasure, subject to the qualification that no sitting supreme court judge can be re

moved from the court during good behavior. The inferior Federal courts may be established and abrogated at the will of Congress, though it would seem that the judges of such inferior courts would be entitled to their salaries during good behavior, even though their court were abolished. The contrary practice was pursued, however, when a number of newly created Federal courts and judgeships were abolished by the Jeffersonian Republicans in 1801.

$354. Present Federal courts.

The organization of the Federal courts under the present acts of Congress is as follows:

(a) The United States district courts. Each state is divided into from one to four Federal judicial districts, in each of which there is a district court held by a district judge appointed for that district.

(b) United States circuit courts. The judicial districts of the United States are divided by groups of states into nine circuits, each of which has from two to four circuit judges. One supreme court justice is also allowed to each circuit. There is a circuit court in almost every judicial district, and these courts are held by the circuit or district judges, the former traveling from district to district in his circuit for this purpose.

(c) United States circuit courts of appeals. In each of the nine circuits there is a court of appeals, composed of three of the circuit judges, which hears appeals from the decisions of the district and circuit courts in its respective circuit.

(d). United States Supreme Court. This is composed

of nine judges, almost all of whose work consists in hearing appeals from the lower Federal courts and from the highest state courts.

§ 355. Original and appellate jurisdiction. The Constitution, Article III, section 2, § 2, provides: "In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, and those in which a state shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.”

Just as in the organization of the Federal courts, Congress has very extensive powers over this jurisdiction. In only two classes of cases is the Supreme Court given original jurisdiction by the Constitution (original jurisdiction is the jurisdiction of a suit at its beginning; appellate jurisdiction is jurisdiction over it on an appeal from the decision of some other tribunal). Congress cannot enlarge the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, but it can give other courts a jurisdiction concurrent with it upon the subjects of its original jurisdiction.

The entire appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court being placed under the control of Congress, it can take away that court's appellate jurisdiction in any class of cases even after the appeal has been taken and argued in the Supreme Court (1). Congress may of course pro

(1) Ex parte McCardle, 7 Wall., 506.