Description: The Judiciary Act of 1789 established a federal court system, an experiment that became one of the outstanding features of American democracy. This volume of essays analyzes the Act from political and legal perspectives while enhancing our understanding of the history of the judiciary and its role in constitutional interpretation. Using previously unavailable material, the first essays examine the importance of political considerations and the intended implementations of constitutional imperatives. They also focus on such topics as ambiguities in the Judiciary Act's division of jurisdiction between state courts and the newly created federal system; early interpretations of various sections of the Act; whether the Act presupposed a federal common law; the problem of dual office holdings by judges; and early perceptions of justice in the courts of frontier America. The book concludes with an essay exploring the attitudes of the Framers towards judicial independence. This interdisciplinary look at one of the most important statues enacted by Congress will interest not only law professors, historians, and political scientists, but also judges, lawyers, and anyone interested in constitutional law and legal history.

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