The Judiciary Act of 1789

The Judiciary Act of 1789 took the abstract rules laid out in Article III and created a system where they would actually be applicable. Remember, until this act was passed, neither the Supreme Court, nor any other federal court existed in the United States. The law is complicated, but in general it served two main purposes:

First, it was the Judiciary Act that established the federal court structure. The Constitution only mentions that the Supreme Court exists, but says nothing else. Congress, not the Constitution, determines the number of justices on the Supreme Court. Furthermore, the Constitution only mentions the existence of federal courts, but none existed until the Judiciary Act was passed. It created district and circuit courts. District courts were presided over by one judge (which is still true today) and the circuit courts were made up of one district court judge and two Supreme Court justices (three judges would hear cases). Today, three judges still hear cases in circuit courts, but those judges are appointed by the president.

Second, the Judiciary Act of 1789 established the jurisdiction that each federal court would have. This part of the law gets a bit thick because it deals with the district courts, circuit courts, and the Supreme Court. For our purposes, not much of it is important to cover in detail. However, one particularly significant portion, Section 25, allowed the Supreme Court to hear appeals from the highest state courts if those courts upheld a state law against a claim that the state law violated the US Constitution or US laws and/or treaties.

Ultimately, the Judiciary Act of 1789 is important because it established a court system that is very similar to the system we have today. Not only that, but it is a reminder that the Constitution does not dictate how the court system exists in the United States. Other that what is actually listed in the US Constitution, Congress holds all authority to determine what types of cases the Supreme Court and all federal Courts can hear.