Article Three

Article Three establishes the judicial branch of the United States government by creating the United States Supreme Court and authorizes Congress to establish the inferior, or lower, courts. It also outlines the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. Unlike European democracies, our judicial system is a co-equal branch of government with the President and the Congress. This co-equal status is an important part of why the U.S. Constitution is the foundation of the longest running government in the world today.

Congress established the lower court system with district courts and circuit courts of appeal. Today we have 94 district courts in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and the Territory of Puerto Rico. The district courts are the trial courts and render judgments of guilt or innocence in federal criminal and civil cases.

We have 13 circuit courts of appeal in the United States, including one in the District of Columbia and one in the circuit court of appeal for the Federal Circuit. The Federal Circuit court of appeal hears various specialty cases including patents, trademarks, government contracts, veterans’ benefits and federal employee benefits. They do not hear criminal or civil appeals. Decisions of all circuit courts of appeals set precedents that can only be changed by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court hears cases where the constitutionality of a law is in question. While hundreds of cases every year are appealed to the Supreme Court, the Court usually accepts less than 100. This process of judicial review was established in 1803 in the Supreme Court decision Marbury v. Madison. President Thomas Jefferson disagreed with the decision; however, he accepted it, cementing the authority of the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court also has jurisdiction over cases where one state is suing another, where an international treaty is involved and where a foreign embassy is involved.

I will close with the advice of Thomas Jefferson who admonished us to accept Supreme Court decisions we dislike and move on for the benefit of the country.