What the Supreme Court can rule on - legally

10 April 2013

 What are the Enumerated Powers of the Federal Courts?

The Judicial Power of the Federal Courts.  By Publius Huldah.

“Judicial Power” refers to a court’s power to hear and decide cases. Art. III §2, U.S. Constitution, lists the cases which federal courts are permitted to hear. They may hear onlycases:

a) Arising under the Constitution, or the Laws of the United States, or Treaties made under the Authority of the United States [1][“federal question” jurisdiction];

b) Affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers & Consuls; cases of admiralty & maritime Jurisdiction; or cases in which the U.S. is a Party [“status of the parties” jurisdiction];

c) Between two or more States; between a State & Citizens of another State; between Citizens of different States; between Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States;[2]or between a State (or Citizens thereof) & foreign States, Citizens or Subjects[3][“diversity” jurisdiction].

These are the ONLY cases which federal courts have constitutional authority to hear! Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist No. 83, 8th para:

…the judicial authority of the federal judicatures is declared by the Constitution to comprehend certain cases particularly specified. The expression of those cases marks the precise limits beyond which the federal courts cannot extend their jurisdiction, because the objects of their cognizance being enumerated, the specification would be nugatory if it did not exclude all ideas of more extensive authority. [emphasis added]

In Federalist No. 80, Hamilton commented on each of these itemized “proper objects” of judicial authority. But here, we will consider only cases “arising under the Constitution”, which concern “the execution of the provisions expressly contained in the articles of Union” (2^ndpara). [4]

 For more details from this brilliant scholar: http://publiushuldah.wordpress.com/category/enumerated-powers-of-federal-courts/