James Madison Papers

Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, [27 August] 1787

Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court

[27 August 1787]

Johnson moved to extend the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to cases arising under the Constitution.

Mr. Madison doubted whether it was not going too far to extend the jurisdiction of the Court generally to cases arising under the Constitution & whether it ought not to be limited to cases of a Judiciary Nature. The right of expounding the Constitution in cases not of this nature ought not to be given to that Department.1

Ms (DLC).

1. JM added that Johnson’s motion “was agreed to nem: con: it being generally supposed that the jurisdiction given was constructively limited to cases of a Judiciary nature” (ibid.).

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    Madison Papers
    Title
    Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, [27 August] 1787
    Author
    Madison, James
    Date
    27 August 1787

    Reference

    Cite as
    “Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, [27 August] 1787,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/01-10-02-0108. [Original source: The Papers of James Madison, vol. 10, 27 May 1787–3 March 1788, ed. Robert A. Rutland, Charles F. Hobson, William M. E. Rachal, and Frederika J. Teute. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1977, pp. 157–158.]