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Reference Library
The founding document as written, a plain overview of the seven Articles, and a glossary of archaic and legal terms.
Founding & Federal Structure
Judiciary Act of 1789
Enacted: 1789
George Washington
Created the federal judiciary — the Supreme Court's original size, the circuit and district courts, and the office of Attorney General.
Article III created 'one supreme Court' and left everything else to Congress. The First Congress filled in the blueprint with the Judiciary Act of 1789, signed by George Washington on September 24, 1789. It fixed the Supreme Court at six justices, established thirteen district courts and three circuit courts, and created the office of Attorney General. Its most famous provision — Section 25 — gave the Supreme Court appellate review over state court decisions on federal questions, the very authority upheld in Martin v. Hunter's Lessee. Section 13, which purported to expand the Court's original jurisdiction over writs of mandamus, was struck down in Marbury v. Madison. The Act's basic architecture — trial courts, intermediate appellate courts, and a Supreme Court of final review — still governs the federal judiciary today.