The Judiciary Act of 1789 created the basic structure of the new federal court system and defined much of the early power and jurisdiction of the federal judiciary. It also set the number of Supreme Court justices at six and created key legal offices like the Attorney General and U.S. marshals.

Core purpose

  • The act established a three-level federal court system: a Supreme Court, circuit courts, and district courts, filling in details the Constitution left open.
  • It defined what kinds of cases federal courts could hear, including many cases involving federal law, disputes between states, and certain cases involving foreign governments or citizens.

Key things it did

  • Set the Supreme Court at one Chief Justice and five Associate Justices.
  • Created federal district courts in the states and circuit courts that handled most serious federal trials and appeals from district courts.
  • Gave the Supreme Court original and appellate jurisdiction in specified types of cases, shaping how cases could reach the Court.

New legal offices

  • Created the office of the Attorney General to represent the United States before the Supreme Court and advise the president and department heads on legal questions.
  • Provided for a U.S. attorney and a U.S. marshal in each federal judicial district, responsible for prosecutions and enforcing federal court orders, respectively.

Lasting impact

  • Laid the foundation for an independent federal judiciary that could interpret federal laws and the Constitution, a structure that still underpins the court system today.
  • Some provisions, like the Alien Tort Statute, continue to influence modern human-rights and international-law litigation in U.S. courts.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.