Can Congress Create Procedures for the Supreme Court's Original Jurisdiction Cases?

Green Bag 2D, Vol. 12, p. 281, 2009

15 Pages Posted: 17 Oct 2011

Date Written: June 1, 2009

Abstract

This article takes off from the short concurring opinion of Chief Justice Roberts (joined by Justice Souter) in Kansas v. Colorado, 556 U.S. (2009), to examine the constitutional text and historical precedent relevant to the question whether Congress has the power to dictate procedures the Supreme Court must follow in original jurisdiction — as opposed to appellate jurisdiction — cases. The article concludes that the more persuasive view is that Congress lacks such authority, but that the Court has avoided answering the question for more than 200 years and may well never have to address this question of constitutional power on the merits.

Suggested Citation

McAllister, Stephen R., Can Congress Create Procedures for the Supreme Court's Original Jurisdiction Cases? (June 1, 2009). Green Bag 2D, Vol. 12, p. 281, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1945319

Stephen R. McAllister (Contact Author)

University of Kansas - School of Law ( email )

Green Hall
1535 W. 15th Street
Lawrence, KS 66045-7577
United States

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics

Downloads
35
Abstract Views
368
PlumX Metrics