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Hello, I am Suhasini Vincent,
Associate Professor of Legal English

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at the University of Panthéon Assas,
and in this week's course we shall

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have a look at the working of the
SCOTUS, the limits of federal

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jurisdiction and the reach of federal
courts.

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Section 1 of Article 3 clearly
states that the power to interpret

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the law of the United States would
be held by the United States Supreme

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Court and the lower federal courts,
even though today the U.S.

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has more than 100 federal courts,
that is 94 district courts,

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13 circuit courts and one Supreme
Court.

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The Supreme Court is the only one
that was created by the Constitution

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itself.

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It is thus the oldest federal court
in the country.

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The Court is composed of nine justices,
one Chief Justice and eight Associate

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Justices.

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The current Supreme Court is composed
of the following justices as shown

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in the picture.

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Decisions handed down by the United
States Supreme Court uphold the U.S.

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Constitution and determine how the U.S.

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Constitution and further federal
legislation attempting to support

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the U.S.

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Constitution ought to be interpreted
and applied across the United States.

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So the United States Supreme Court
possesses immense power to check

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and balance the federal legislative
branch, the executive branch and

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state laws that go against the U.S.

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Constitution.

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The Constitution does not specify
qualifications for justices such as age,

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education, profession or native-born
citizenship.

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A justice does not have to be a
lawyer or a law school graduate,

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but all justices have been trained
in the law and have been sitting

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judges at the time they are nominated
by the U.S.

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President.

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During the Senate confirmations
process, the Senate may consider

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where nominees stand on issues
which are contentious to the American

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public.

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The Supreme Court's nine justices
are nominated by the U.S.

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President and appointed for a life
tenure after a confirmation by

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the Senate as stipulated in Article 2,
Section 2.

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Today Chief Justice John Roberts
presides over the court.

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The most recently appointed justices
are Kate Tangee Brown Jackson and

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Amy Coney Barrett.

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Justice Brown fills the seat of
Stephen Breyer.

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She was nominated by President
Joe Biden and is the first black

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woman to serve on the United States
Supreme Court.

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Justice Barrett filled the seat
of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

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She was nominated by the then sitting
President Donald Trump and sworn

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in weeks after Ginsburg's passing,
the shortest period in modern U.S.

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history for a new U.S.

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Supreme Court judge to take office.

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Petitions come with few exceptions
from parties that lost cases in

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Federal Courts of Epids,
that is one of the 13 circuit courts,

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or in the high state courts which
may be referred to as a state Supreme

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Court.

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These may also be referred to in
the literature as petitioners versus

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respondents.

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So petitioners who are not satisfied
with the decision of a lower court

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may petition the United States
Supreme Court to hear their case.

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They petition the court for review,
asking it to grant a writ or

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sociaudary.

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This is a request that the Supreme
Court order a lower court to send

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up the record of the case for review.

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The Supreme Court of the United
States usually is not under any

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obligation to hear these cases
and it usually only does so if

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the case could have significant
significance might harmonize

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conflicting decisions in the Federal
Circuit Courts.

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In fact the court accepts only
100 to 150 of the most important

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cases that it is asked to review
each year.

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Typically the court hears cases
that have been decided in either

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an appropriate United States Court
of Appeals or the highest court

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in a given state.

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The Supreme Court has its own set
of rules.

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According to these rules four of
the nine justices must vote to

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accept a case.

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When the justices have heard oral
arguments and deliberated the majority

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opinion explained in writing by
one justice constitutes the United

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States Supreme Court decision.

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This then serves as a precedent
that must be followed by all lower

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courts within the jurisdiction
of the United States,

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both federal laws and laws within
the states.

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That being in place the United
States Supreme Court itself may

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change rules established by its
own earlier decisions.

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Supreme Court justices are regularly
described with labels as conservative,

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moderate or liberal according to
their apparent judicial or political

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philosophy.

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Justices do not always vote in
the direction of their political

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stance but over time United States
Supreme Court nominations and

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appointments have created polarized
debates both politically and with

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the general public.

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Justices in favor of judicial restraint
feel that laws should be interpreted

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in particular the strictly avoiding
new pronouncements that seem to

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change an existing interpretation
of the law deferring to federal

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or state legislatures on controversial
issues.

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They believe that it is essential
to interpret the constitution and

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laws keeping in mind the intentions
of the founding fathers at the

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time of its adoption.

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They adhere to a conservative way
of interpreting the constitution.

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In contrast others defend the idea
of a living constitution the

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interpretation of which is a belief
that the United States Supreme

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Court should evolve to reflect
changes in society.

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They defend the lawmaking role
of this judiciary in a common law

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tradition.

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Critics of this approach accuse
them of judicial activism or

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legislating from the bench as they
interpret the laws and constitution

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by adapting and following the
evolutions of society that are

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liberal and progressive in the
interpretations of the law.

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The limited jurisdiction of federal
courts.

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Section 2 defines the jurisdiction
of the judicial power of the federal

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courts.

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Jurisdiction refers to the power
of a court to hear a case.

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So this section tells us what kinds
of cases the supreme court and

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other federal courts will hear.

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These powers are limited and keep
in mind that the last majority

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of criminal civil and family law
cases are heard in state not federal

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courts.

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More than 100 million cases are
filed every year in the US state

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trial courts while roughly only
400,000 cases are filed in federal

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trial courts.

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These are approximately 30,000
state judges often elected or appointed

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for a fixed period compared to
1,700 federal judges.

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Let's look at the list of cases
that may come up to this court.

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All cases that arise under the
constitution, the laws of the United

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States or its treaties,
all cases that affect American

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ambassadors, public officials and
public councils, all cases of admiralty

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and maritime jurisdiction,
cases that involve national voters,

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all cases in which the United States
is a party when a state,

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a citizen or a foreign power sues
the national government,

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all cases that involve one or more
states or the citizens of different

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states, all cases between citizens
of the same state who are claiming

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land under grants from other states.

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A federal court's limited jurisdiction
thus means that they can only hear

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federal judicial conflicts known
as cases and controversies which

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from the start are supposed to
exclude advisory opinions,

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theoretical and political questions.

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To be heard in federal court,
a case must fall under one of two

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broad categories of subject matter
jurisdiction.

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Firstly, federal questions and next,
diversity of citizenship.

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Federal questions cover,
I quote, all cases in law and equity

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arising under the constitution
and the laws of the United States,

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close quotes.

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These are lawsuits in which plaintiffs
are able to base their claims on

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federal law, that is Article 3,
Section 2 of the Constitution.

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Over time, this has been interpreted
broadly by the United States Supreme

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Court, allowing federal courts
to hear any case where there is

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a federal ingredient.

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This means that federal courts
will hear cases that involve issues

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touching on the Constitution or
other federal laws.

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The source of federal question
jurisdiction can be found in the

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Constitution.

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Here are some examples of federal
question jurisdiction.

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For instance, a retired woman brings
an action against the government

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to obtain federal social security
or pension benefits that were denied

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to her.

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A man may sue the company that
fired him in violation of federal

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anti-discrimination laws.

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Or one smartphone manufacturer
files a money claim against a

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competitor for copying its product
features.

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This is called patent infringement.

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A considerable amount of federal
question litigation involves judicial

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review.

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In the context of an individual case,
a court examines a government action

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that is legislative or executive,
federal or state, to determine

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whether or not it falls under United
States constitutional review,

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in other words, whether conforms
to the U.S.

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Constitution.

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In the cases of diversity of
citizenship cases, they cover,

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I quote, controversies between
citizens of different states,

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close quotes.

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Federal law also authorizes federal
courts to hear cases where the

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opposing parties are citizens of
different states.

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This is known as diversity jurisdiction
because the plaintiff and the defendant

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have different or diverse state
citizenships.

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Diversity jurisdiction enables
the federal court to hear cases

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where there's no federal question.

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In diversity cases, the federal
court provides a fair forum where

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citizens of different states can
have their cases heard.

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The federal law governing diversity
jurisdiction states that in a case

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that must an amount in controversy,
for example, 75,000 U.S.

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dollars or more before a federal
court can hear a case.

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Additionally, there are exceptions
to diversity jurisdiction for some

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cases, including probate cases
and family law cases,

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which are almost always handled
in state courts.

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Here are some examples.

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For instance, a patient from New
Jersey sues a New York doctor for

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malpractice after a disastrous
operation, or a company with

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headquarters in Nevada that brings
an action against its supplier

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based in California for providing
defective merchandise.

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Other types of cases listed in
Section 2 similarly involve either

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federal interests or other forms
of diversity.

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It's interesting to note that in
Article 3, federal jurisdiction

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was not described as being exclusive.

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For many federal question cases
and all diversity of citizenship cases,

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state courts will also share
jurisdiction.

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As a result of these types of
jurisdiction overlaps at times,

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over the years, Congress has
established a number of rules to

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clarify these matters.

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That is concurrent jurisdiction.

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It allows more than one court to
have the authority to hear the

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same case.

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Section 2 also notes that the Supreme
Court will have original jurisdiction

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in any case dealing with or affecting
an ambassador, public minister

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or council or in which a state
is a party.

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Original jurisdiction is the power
of a court to hear a case first.

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That means that in any case dealing
with these groups of public servants,

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the Supreme Court must hear the
case first and no lower court can do so.

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In addition to these original
jurisdiction cases, the Supreme

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Court will have appellate jurisdiction
in all other cases.

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Appellate jurisdiction is the power
to hear a case after a lower court

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has already decided the case.

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That is what it means to hear the
case on appeal.

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You should remember that the Supreme
Court is the only federal court

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to have both original and appellate
jurisdiction.

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Thus Article 3 includes the distinction
between original jurisdiction,

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that is cases heard at first instance
at trials, and appellate jurisdiction

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when parties contest trial decisions.

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As inferior federal trial courts
were soon to be created,

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the US Supreme Court was given
original jurisdiction for only

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a few types of cases,
as in Section 2.

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Congress has since, over time,
empowered lower federal courts

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to try most federal cases,
leaving US Supreme Court first

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instance jurisdiction mostly for
conflicts between states,

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that is border disputes and what
can broadly be referred to as civil

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rights, questions that they choose
to hear which are seen to be protected

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under the US Constitution.

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With this we complete our program
for semester one and let me wish

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you all the best for your exams.

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Thank you.