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The Judicial Power of the United States, Article III, Section 1
Article III, Section 1 confers the judicial power upon the federal courts, provides for the lifetime appointment of federal judges and prohibits Congress from decreasing the pay of judges. It reads as follows:
“Section 1. 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”
While the Founding Fathers created the Supreme Court, they left up to Congress the decision on the size and composition of the Supreme Court, the time and place for sitting, and its internal organization. In fact, the office of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is not specifically created in Article III regarding the judiciary. That office is mentioned only once in the Constitution, in Article I, Section 3 indicating the Chief Justice would preside at the impeachment of the President. The Constitution assumes there will be a Chief Justice by implication, but does not directly create the office.
Subject Matter Jurisdiction, Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution
Article III, Section 2 defines the types of cases that federal courts may decide. The federal courts can only hear those cases involving subjects defined in the Constitution and refined by Congress. This concept is known as subject matter jurisdiction. This is in contrast to state courts that can hear nearly every type of controversy. State courts are courts of general jurisdiction. Federal courts are considered to be courts of “limited jurisdiction”.[1] Federal courts can make decisions in the following types of cases:
- cases arising under the Constitution, laws, and treaties of the United States(Federal question jurisdiction)
- cases involving ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls (Ambassador jurisdiction)
- cases involving navigable waters (Admiralty jurisdiction)
- cases in which the United States is a party (United States as a party jurisdiction)
- cases between two or more states (State jurisdiction)
- cases between citizens of different states (Diversity jurisdiction)
- cases between citizens of the same state claiming land under the grants of different states (Land grants jurisdiction)
- cases between a state or citizens of a state and a foreign state or citizens of a foreign state (Alienage jurisdiction)
The above cases are the kinds in of matters that can be heard in federal courts beginning with the trial or District Court. The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in certain cases. This means that the Supreme Court is the first court to hear the case. The only matters involving original Supreme Court jurisdiction are those involving representatives of foreign governments and those in which a State is a party. In all other federal court cases, the Supreme Court hears appeals from the decisions of lower courts; this is appellate jurisdiction. Finally Section 2 provides that all criminal trials shall be by jury trial.
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