Judicial authority to interpret the Constitution and laws - Next Generation Bar Exam

1. A state high court rules for a defendant under both the state constitution and the Fourth Amendment; the state ground alone suffices. What is the effect on Supreme Court review?

   The Supreme Court lacks jurisdiction to review it, because the judgment rests on an adequate and independent state ground. Even reversing the federal ruling would not change the result.

2. In which cases does the Supreme Court have original jurisdiction under Article III?

   Cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state is a party. Congress may not expand the Court's original jurisdiction, as Marbury held.

3. Under Marbury v. Madison, what power do federal courts have over acts of Congress?

   The power to declare them unconstitutional and refuse to apply them. It is emphatically the province of the judicial department to say what the law is.

4. Under Stern v. Marshall, what may Congress not assign to a non-Article III tribunal?

   Final adjudication of a traditional common-law claim between private parties. Such private-rights claims are within the judicial power reserved to Article III courts.

5. What canon directs courts to interpret statutes to avoid serious constitutional questions when possible?

   The constitutional avoidance canon. Courts adopt a fairly possible construction that avoids deciding whether the statute is unconstitutional.

6. What authority does Congress have over the lower federal courts?

   To create them and define their jurisdiction within the limits of Article III. Article III vests judicial power in one Supreme Court and such inferior courts as Congress establishes.

7. Under Martin v. Hunter's Lessee, what power does the Supreme Court have over state court judgments?

   The power to review state court decisions on questions of federal law. Uniformity in federal law requires a single final interpreter.

8. Under Cooper v. Aaron, who is bound by the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution?

   State officials, including state legislatures and governors. States may not nullify federal constitutional rulings.

9. What power does Congress have over the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction?

   To make exceptions and regulations under the Exceptions Clause. Ex parte McCardle upheld Congress's withdrawal of a category of appellate jurisdiction; the outer limits remain unsettled.

10. When will the Supreme Court decline to review a state court judgment that also decides a federal question?

    When the judgment rests on an adequate and independent state-law ground. Reviewing the federal question would then be an advisory opinion.

11. What protections does Article III give federal judges?

    Tenure during good behavior and compensation that may not be diminished while in office. These protections secure judicial independence.

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