Congressional Control of Supreme Court Appellate Jurisdiction: Why the Original Jurisdiction Clause Suggests an "Essential Role"

Abstract

There has been considerable debate about the limits of Congress' power under the exceptions clause' to strip the Supreme Court of appellate jurisdiction. Some have argued that Congress may strip the Court of all its appellate jurisdiction, withhold jurisdiction from the lower federal courts, and thereby all but eliminate the judicial branch.2 Others have argued that the Supreme Court has an essential role that Congress may not destroy through exceptions.3 Still others have argued that the exceptions clause gives Congress unfettered discretion to distribute appellate jurisdiction among the federal courts-that is, to make exceptions in favor of other Article III courts.4