Cases that Shaped the Federal Courts

Defining the Judiciary - Cases establishing what it means for a federal court to exercise “the judicial power.”

Cases

American Insurance Co. v. Canter (1828): Did the Constitution require Congress to give judges of territorial courts the same tenure and salary protections afforded to judges of federal courts located in the states?

Gordon v. United States (1865): Could the Supreme Court hear an appeal from a federal court whose judgments were subject to revision by the executive branch?

Glidden Company v. Zdanok (1962): Were the Court of Claims and the Court of Customs Appeals “constitutional courts” exercising judicial power, or “legislative courts” exercising powers of Congress?

United States v. Allocco (1962): Were presidential recess appointments to the federal courts constitutional?

Northern Pipeline Construction Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co. (1982): Did the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978 violate the Constitution by granting too much judicial power to bankruptcy judges?

See also:

Hayburn's Case (1792)

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Fletcher v. Peck (1810)

Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee (1816)

Ableman v. Booth (1859)

Crowell v. Benson (1932)

Brown v. Allen (1953)

Walker v. City of Birmingham (1967)

Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotic Agents (1971)

Morrison v. Olson (1988)

Mistretta v. United States (1989)

City of Boerne v. Flores (1997)

Federal Jurisdiction - Cases establishing the power of federal courts to hear certain types of controversies.

Cases

United States v. Hudson and Goodwin (1812): Did the federal courts have jurisdiction over crimes not defined by Congress?

Osborn v. Bank of the United States (1824): Could Congress grant the Bank of the United States the right to sue and be sued in the federal courts?

Louisville, Cincinnati, and Charleston Rail-road Co. v. Letson (1844): Should a corporation be considered a citizen of a state for purposes of federal jurisdiction?

See also:

Chisholm v. Georgia (1793)

Fletcher v. Peck (1810)

Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee (1816)

Ex parte McCardle (1869)

Moore v. Dempsey (1923)

Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins (1938)

Railroad Commission of Texas v. Pullman Company (1941)

Brown v. Allen (1953)

Monroe v. Pape (1961)

Walker v. City of Birmingham (1967)

Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotic Agents (1971)

Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife (1992)

Federalism - Cases framing the relationship between federal court power and states’ rights.

Cases

Chisholm v. Georgia (1793): Could states be sued in federal court by individual citizens of another state?

Fletcher v. Peck (1810): Could federal courts strike down state laws that violated the U.S. Constitution?

Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee (1816): Were state courts bound to follow decisions issued by the Supreme Court of the United States?

Ex parte Young (1908): Could a federal court stop a state official from enforcing an allegedly unconstitutional state law?

Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins (1938): What source of law were federal courts to use in cases where no statute applied and the parties were from different states?

Railroad Commission of Texas v. Pullman Company (1941): When should a federal court abstain from deciding a legal issue in order to allow a state court to resolve it?

Walker v. City of Birmingham (1967): Could civil rights protestors challenge the constitutionality of a state court injunction, having already been charged with contempt of court for violating the injunction?

See also:

Ableman v. Booth (1859)

Moore v. Dempsey (1923)

Brown v. Allen (1953)

Monroe v. Pape (1961)

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Habeas Corpus - Cases establishing the scope, availability, and importance of the “great writ of liberty.”

Cases

Ableman v. Booth (1859): Could state courts issue writs of habeas corpus against federal authorities?

Moore v. Dempsey (1923): How closely should federal courts review the fairness of state criminal trials on petitions for writs of habeas corpus?

Brown v. Allen (1953): What procedures should federal courts use to evaluate the fairness of state trials in habeas corpus cases?

See also:

Ex parte McCardle (1869)

Ex parte Young (1908)

Judicial Independence - Cases preserving judges’ insulation from political influence and outside interference.

Cases

Ex parte McCardle (1869): Could Congress remove a pending appeal from the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction?

City of Boerne v. Flores (1997): Could Congress reverse the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Constitution through a statute purportedly enforcing the Fourteenth Amendment?

See also:

Related resource: videos on judicial independence

Hayburn's Case (1792)

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Fletcher v. Peck (1810)

Gordon v. United States (1865)

Glidden Company v. Zdanok (1962)

Walker v. City of Birmingham (1967)

Morrison v. Olson (1988)

Mistretta v. United States (1989)

Judicial Review - Cases establishing the federal courts’ authority to determine the constitutionality of legislation.

Cases

Marbury v. Madison (1803): Could federal courts invalidate laws that violate the Constitution?

Crowell v. Benson (1932): What standard should courts apply when reviewing the decisions of executive agencies?

See also:

Fletcher v. Peck (1810)

Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee (1816)

Baker v. Carr (1962)

City of Boerne v. Flores (1997)

Justiciability - Cases determining whether certain controversies are appropriate for judicial resolution.

Cases

Frothingham v. Mellon (1923): Was being a taxpayer sufficient to give a plaintiff the right to challenge the constitutionality of a federal statute?

Baker v. Carr (1962): Could a federal court hear a constitutional challenge to a state’s apportionment plan for the election of state legislators?

Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife (1992): Could an environmental organization sue the federal government to challenge a regulation regarding protected species?

See also:

Hayburn's Case (1792)

Gordon v. United States (1865)

Non-Adjudicatory Roles of Federal Judges - Cases setting the parameters of judges’ work outside the context of traditional courtroom litigation.

Cases

Hayburn's Case (1792): Could Congress require the federal courts to perform nonjudicial duties?

Morrison v. Olson (1988): Could Congress empower federal judges to appoint independent counsel investigating executive branch officials?

Mistretta v. United States (1989): Could Congress create an independent judicial agency to guide courts in setting criminal sentences?

See also:

Glidden Company v. Zdanok (1962)

Remedies - Cases outlining federal courts’ powers to resolve disputes and restore parties’ rights.

Cases

Monroe v. Pape (1961): Did the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 permit lawsuits in federal court against police officers who violated the constitutional rights of suspects without authorization from the state?

Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotic Agents (1971): Did the Fourth Amendment create an implied right to sue officials who conducted illegal searches and seizures?

See also:

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee (1816)

Ableman v. Booth (1859)

Gordon v. United States (1865)

Ex parte Young (1908)

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Walker v. City of Birmingham (1967)

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Cases that Shaped the Federal Courts