They cannot therefore form the subjects of, or create subjects for, its original jurisdiction. The actual constitution of this country is not a government of confidence; it is a scheme of government conceived in the spirit of jealousy, and rendered adequate to all its own purposes, by its own means: and the judicial power of the Union is the principal means of giving effect to it. They might else be evaded and trampled under foot by judicatures in which the constitution does not confide. 5. The Judiciary Act of 1789 provided for mandatory Supreme Court review of the final judgments Congress cannot authorize the Supreme Court to exercise appellate jurisdiction over the decisions of the State Courts, unless they have legislative power over those Courts. U.S. Reports: Cohens v. Virginia, 19 U.S. (6 Wheat.) If, in any case brought before them, the State Courts shall not have jurisdiction, the defendant may plead to the jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court of the State will finally decide the point. It has been the unwelcome duty of this tribunal to reverse the judgments of many State Courts in cases in which the strongest State feelings were engaged. If this hypothesis be just, the argument founded on it is equally so; but if the hypothesis be not supported by the constitution, the argument fails with it. 'The instruments whereby this remedy is obtained, are a diversity of suits and actions, which are defined by the Mirror to be 'the lawful demand of one's right.' The opinion in which it is presumed that mankind generally will unite, is, that all acts of Congress, not contrary to reason or the restrictions of the constitution, passed in legislating over the District, shall operate exclusively within its limits, but not at all beyond them. It was said by the counsel for the defendant in error, on the former argument, that the power is municipal, to be exercised over the District only, and, of course, confined in its operation to the limits of the District. So the same Court has frequently common law and chancery jurisdiction, and pronounces a different judgment in relation to the same subject, as they are exercising the one or the other jurisdiction. A power to legislate over Virginia cannot come into collision with a power to legislate over the District, unless those to whom they are entrusted pass the limits of their jurisdiction. 666956 Cohens v. Virginia — Syllabus by John Marshall. The City of Washington shall be divided into three divisions or wards, as now divided by the Levy Court for the county, for the purposes of assessment; but the number may be increased hereafter, as in the wisdom of the City Council shall seem most conducive to the general interest and convenience. David B. Ogden, William Pickney. But in what sense can that be called a local government which proceeds from the whole body of the nation? Let us suppose, that this Court, claiming an appellate jurisdiction, forbids the execution of the party; but the State Court orders its judgment to be executed, and it is executed, by putting to death the prisoner. And be it further enacted, That the present Mayor of the City of Washington shall be, and continue such, until the second Monday in June next, on which day, and on the second Monday in June annually thereafter, the Mayor of the said City shall be elected by ballot of the Board of Aldermen and Board of Common Council, in joint meeting, and a majority of the votes of all the members of both boards shall be necessary to a choice; and if there should be an equality of votes between two persons after the third ballot, the two houses shall determine by lot. Or, as Bracton and Fleta express it, in the words of Justinian, 'jus prosequendi in judicio quod alicui debetur.' No. It may be urged, that the place where the lottery is drawn is of no importance to the Corporation, and therefore the act need not be so construed as to give power over the place, but that the right to sell tickets throughout the United States is of importance, and therefore ought to be implied. This case was stated in the opinion given on the motion for dismissing the writ of error for want of jurisdiction in the Court. The remedy for every species of wrong is, says Judge Blackstone, 'the being put in possession of that right whereof the party injured is deprived.' 2 Comyn's Dig. But, ought not this ability, in reason and sound policy, to be applied directly to the protection of individuals employed in the execution of the laws, as well as to their coercion. Because it is incompatible with their sovereignty. Because of the subject matter of the controversy, without reference to the parties. (2.) Justices for the Court It is no answer to say that any individual may allege that he has such a privilege, in order to remove his case from the State Court to this; because no injury would ensue, as the case would be sent back with damages: and even if there might be some inconveniences, from improperly bringing causes here, they ought rather to be submitted to, than to hazard the possible violation of the constitutional rights of a citizen. This it is which distinguishes it from the Confederation. The people of Virginia, in adopting the constitution of the United States, had power to diminish the jurisdiction of the State judiciary: but Congress have no power over it; they can neither diminish nor extend it; they can neither take from the State tribunals one cause, or give them one to decide. But if it be a criminal case, it is conceded, that the Courts of the United States cannot take original jurisdiction over it—inasmuch as that right fully belongs to the Courts of the State whose laws have been violated; and that jurisdiction having once rightfully attached, they have a right to proceed to judgment; but if they have no original jurisdiction, I have shown, in the discussion of the second point, that they cannot have appellate jurisdiction, and it consequently follows, that they cannot have jurisdiction at all. Can, then, the Court take jurisdiction in this case, which was a criminal prosecution, founded on the presentment of a grand jury? The counsel for the defendant in error urge, in opposition to this rule of construction, some dicta of the Court, in the case of Marbury v. Madison. The legislative authority over the District of Columbia, is that of the Union. It is exposed to storms and tempests, and its framers must be unwise statesmen indeed, if they have not provided it, as far as its nature will permit, with the means of self-preservation from the perils it may be destined to encounter. The same observation applies to the other instances with which the counsel who opened the cause has illustrated this argument. Abr. Could an act establishing a lottery be ascribed to any of the specific powers, in the execution of which Congress may legislate over all the States? My second proposition is, that if this Court could entertain jurisdiction of the case at all, it must be original, and not appellate jurisdiction. What security have we, were the proposed amendment adopted, that this tribunal would not substitute their will and their pleasure in place of the law? If they have passed a statute authorizing an act to be done in a State which they had no power to authorize in a State, their statute is void. It is also said, that this is a prosecution under a penal statute, and that criminal cases peculiarly belong to the domestic forum. It is the creature of their will, and lives only by their will. The constitution and laws of a State, so far as they are repugnant to the constitution and laws of the United States, are absolutely void. And if a State has surrendered any portion of its sovereignty, the question whether a liability to suit be a part of this portion, depends on the instrument by which the surrender is made. '12 This Court have also said, that 'the sovereign powers vested in the State governments by their respective constitutions, remained unaltered and unimpaired, except so far as they were granted to the government of the United States. And where the constitution confers original jurisdiction, (as in cases where a State is a party,) Congress cannot change it into appellate jurisdiction. Friday, January 26, 1810. State officers of Ohio entered the vaults of a branch of the Bank of the United States and forcibly collected over $100,000 in state taxes. The question actually before the Court is investigated with care, and considered in its full extent. This may be very true; but by no means justifies the inference drawn from it. If it was in all respects similar to the case of Hunter v. Martin,5 adjudged in this Court, I should contend, that the constitutional question of jurisdiction should not be regarded as settled. Thus, Congress authorized the people of Missouri to form a constitution, and govern themselves. There can be none; for the line of the District completely separates them. It may be true, that the partiality of the State tribunals, in ordinary controversies between a State and its citizens, was not apprehended, and therefore the judicial power of the Union was not extended to such cases; but this was not the sole nor the greatest object for which this department was created. It is the power of the People and the States combined, exerted upon their peculiar domain. The proprietor of property has not a right every where to dispose of it as he pleases. If 'cases in law and equity, arising under the laws of the United States,' comprehend criminal prosecutions in the State Courts, then every prosecution against a citizen of the State, in which he may claim some exemption under an act of Congress or a treaty, however unfounded the claim, may be re-examined, both as to law and fact, (if Congress please,) in the Supreme Court. Date: 1821 Case Background: following the Supreme Courts previous rulings, advocates of state rights continued to challenge its authority to overturn acts of state legislature Case Decisions: Marshall affirmed the constitutionality of Judicial Review of state court decisions saying that the states had given up some of their sovereignty by ratifying the Constitution and that they must … In that enumeration, we find 'controversies between two or more States, between a State and citizens of another State,' 'and between a State and foreign States, citizens, or subjects.'. And if it is not justified by the powers which extend to the States, it cannot be justified by that power which, being limited to the District, does not extend to the States. If the constitution or laws may be violated by proceedings instituted by a State against its own citizens, and if that violation may be such as essentially to affect the constitution and the laws, such as to arrest the progress of government in its constitutional course, why should these cases be excepted from that provision which expressly extends the judicial power of the Union to all cases arising under the constitution and laws? The by-laws of the City of London are not acts of Parliament, or laws of the realm; neither have the by-laws of the City of Washington any force beyond the limits of the City. Cohens v. Virginia, (1821), U.S. Supreme Court case in which the court reaffirmed its right to review all state court judgments in cases arising under the federal Constitution or a law of the United States. Can it be affirmed, that a State might not sue the citizen of another State in a Circuit Court? The subjects spoken of are the judicial power of the United States; the supreme and inferior Courts of the United States; and the original and appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. Judicial power, includes power to decide, and power to enforce the decision. The nation is interested in the prosperity of every city within the limits of the Union. It is obvious, that they might contribute as much to the passage and repeal of this law, as any other, and yet this ground will not be attempted to be sustained. An act of Congress which should violate the principles of natural justice, should also be deemed void. The other suppositions which have been stated of bills of attainder and ex post facto laws passed by the States, and attempted to be executed, but decided by this Court to be unconstitutional, and yet the State Courts persisting in carrying them into effect, even in capital cases, are too wild and extravagant, to illustrate any question which can ever practically arise. The only difference is, that with Congress it is the exercise of a national power, and must, therefore, be co-extensive in its operation with the Union, although the money to be raised by it cannot be applied to the use of any other City in the Union than that which is the national capital, and in which, consequently, all the States, and all the people, have a common interest. We do not think the article under consideration presents that necessity. A plaintiff recovers in the Courts of Virginia judgment for a sum of money; you reverse the judgment; but, the State Court does not record your decision; the plaintiff obtains a copy of the record of the judicial proceedings of the State, and presents them as evidence before the Court of another State; he must recover, notwithstanding your judgment, which has not been made a part of that record, to which full faith and credit is to be given. And why are the members of the State legislatures and executives required to take the same oath? To confer the jurisdiction claimed, the constitution should have said, that the judicial power of the United States shall have appellate jurisdiction over the judicial power of the several States. Thus, the State Courts have acknowledged jurisdiction; and if that jurisdiction is constitutional, Congress cannot control it. Or is it a mode of borrowing money? It is, then, by the power to legislate over the ten miles square that the authority to sell lottery tickets in the States must be defended. The States, before the adoption of the federal constitution, were also sovereign; and the same principle applies, unless it can be shown that they have surrendered this attribute of sovereignty; which I have endeavored to show they have not. The state judiciary cannot have independent or subordinate power, at the will and pleasure of Congress. It is a national grant for national purposes, to be used in each particular instance, with the approbation of the President. Whereupon the regular process of law was awarded against the said defendants, to answer the said presentment, returnable to the next succeeding term, which was duly returned by the Sergeant of the borough of Norfolk—'Executed.'. We must endeavor so to construe them as to preserve the true intent and meaning of the instrument. The power given extends to all cases whatsoever, and no one will contend, that Congress have power to legislate over the States in all cases whatsoever. But it is contended, that there are cases arising under the constitution and laws of the Union, which, from their very nature, are not the subjects of judicial cognizance, and consequently are exceptions out of the general grant of judicial power under the constitution; such as the prohibition to the States to grant titles of nobility, &c.: and that the present case may be such an exception. And the two persons at the first election, and the one person at all subsequent elections, having the greatest number of legal votes for the Board of Aldermen; and the three persons having the greatest number of legal votes for the Board of Common Council, shall be duly elected; and in all cases of an equality of votes, the commissioners shall decide by lot. As to the object being a national one for which the money is raised by the lottery in question: the nation has no particular interest in any thing in the City of Washington, except the public property and buildings belonging to the United States. The words are broad enough to comprehend all cases of this description, in whatever Court they may be decided. It is immaterial whether it be so or not. Extract from the Journal of the Senate of the Commonwealth of Virginia, begun and held at the Capitol in the City of Richmond, the 4th day of December, 1809. This, however, is not of absolute necessity, but at the discretion of Congress, who may restrain and modify this concurrent jurisdiction, or render it exclusive in the federal tribunals at their pleasure. In this country, we are trying the novel experiment of a divided sovereignty, between the national government and the States. It is an authority to exercise an inherent power. By the sixth article of the Constitution, laws of the United States made in pursuance of the Constitution, are declared a part of the supreme law of the land, and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any thing in the laws of their State to the contrary notwithstanding. To this construction the Court cannot give its assent. Each member will possess a veto on the will of the whole. The Court, he says, cannot annul this grant. It is worthy of consideration, whether this clause in the judiciary act, which grants an appeal to one party, and denies it to the other, is not void, as being partial and unjust. So, too, in the same clause, the jurisdiction of the Court is declared to be original, 'in cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls.' It therefore embraces both objects; and its meaning is, that the judicial power shall not be construed to extend to any suit which may be commenced, or which, if already commenced, may be prosecuted against a State by the citizen of another State. The lottery emanates from a corporate power. Will the spirit of the constitution justify this attempt to control its words? If this could be maintained, then a clause inserted for the purpose of excluding the jurisdiction of all other Courts than this, in a particular case, would have the effect of excluding the jurisdiction of this Court in that very case, if the suit were to be brought in another Court, and that Court were to assert jurisdiction. It is clearly in its commencement the suit of a State against an individual, which suit is transferred to this Court, not for the purpose of asserting any claim against the State, but for the purpose of asserting a constitutional defence against a claim made by a State. 264 (1821). But it is said, that the question does not arise under any statute of the United States, but under a mere by-law of the City of Washington; and that the case involves nothing but that by-law: and it is said to be absurd to call a by-law of the City of Washington a law of the United States. Suppose, for example, a State were to grant a title of nobility, how could that be brought before a judicial tribunal, so as to render any effectual judgment? If it be designed so to operate, then the question, whether the power so exercised be incidental to the power of exclusive legislation, and be warranted by the constitution, requires a consideration of that instrument. The license is grantable by the State; when granted, the federal government may tax it; but they have no power to grant it. But, should no appeal be made to force, the States can put an end to the government by refusing to act. It is simply notice to the opposite party that the record is transferred into another Court, where he may appear, or decline to appear, as his judgment or inclination may determine. He shall, ex officio, have, and exercise all the powers, authority, and jurisdiction of a Justice of the Peace, for the County of Washington, within the said county. argued, that there was no authority produced, or which could be produced, for the position on the other side, that this Court could not, constitutionally, exercise an appellate jurisdiction over the judgments or decrees of the State Courts, in cases arising under the constitution, laws, and treaties of the Union. Mr. Barbour observed, in reply, that he wished to be distinctly understood, as not yielding his assent to the doctrine of Hunter v. Martin. Rep. 18. This is a writ of error to a judgment rendered in the Court of Hustings for the borough of Norfolk, as an information for selling lottery tickets, contrary to an act of the Legislature of Virginia. Congress can neither regulate the State Courts, or touch them by regulation. Abr. 1 Nels. Marshall agreed with the constitutional claims of the Cohens' lawyers. Neither of these consequences ought, without evident necessity, to be involved; the latter would be entirely inadmissible, as it would defeat some of the most important and avowed purposes of the proposed government, and would essentially embarrass its measures. If the State legislatures may be supposed possibly capable of violating that instrument, and the State judiciaries disposed to sustain them in that violation, it may as well be supposed, that the federal legislature may be thus disposed, and the federal judiciary prepared to sustain them. The answer is, that this provision was merely intended to prevent States from being sued in the inferior Courts of the Union; that the Supreme Court is to have appellate jurisdiction in all cases arising under the constitution, laws, and treaties of the United States; that where, in such a case, a State sues in its own Courts, it must be understood as renouncing its privilege or exemption, and to submit itself to the appellate power of this Court; since, if the jurisdiction in this class of cases be concurrent, it cannot be exercised originally in the Supreme Court, wherever the State chooses to commence the suit in its own Courts. America has chosen to be, in many respects, and to many purposes, a nation; and for all these purposes, her government is complete; to all these objects, it is competent. Could the lottery be drawn in any State of the Union? All argument upon the sufficiency of the claim is premature, so long as it is, sub judice, whether the Court can examine its sufficiency. This point is incidentally touched in Martin v. Hunter,26 in considering the question as to removal of suits, before judgment, and it is there said by the Court that the remedy of removal of suits would be utterly inadequate to the purposes of the constitution, if it could act only on the parties, and not upon the State Courts. Virginia Sale — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Virginia et Sale. 2. p. 21. Sec. 8. As they cannot impose on the State Courts any duties, so neither can they take from them any powers. The people of the United States are the sole sovereign authority of this country. The cases 'in which a State shall be a party,' of which the Supreme Court may take cognizance, are civil controversies. And, if they cannot, must the constitution yield to a lottery? The President has no agency in the lottery. The Attorney-General, for the plaintiffs in error, in reply, contended that Congress, in passing the law under consideration, acted in the name of the whole nation, and for a great national object. Law, V. nation; and for all these purposes, her government is complete . The last act done need not be a law of the United States. They may prescribe the time, place, and manner, of holding elections of representatives; the time and manner of choosing Senators by the State legislatures; and the time of choosing electors of a President. Courts of justice are the means most usually employed; and it is reasonable to expect that a government should repose on its own Courts, rather than on others. The district shall not exceed ten miles square, and as was argued in the Convention of Virginia, may not exceed one mile: so far from the principle being impaired then, it is greatly strengthened by the language of this provision. There is in every body of people a natural inherent right to legislate for themselves: but small societies must have permission or authority, from the great societies, of which they form a part. And if 'controversies' include such prosecutions, then every prosecution against an alien, or the citizen of another State, may be so re-examined, whether he claim such exemption or not. The strength thus obtained will prove pernicious. The evident aim of the plan of the convention is, that all the causes of the specified classes shall, for weighty public reasons, receive their original or final determination in the Courts of the Union. I call upon them to show a power granted to Congress, which the sale of lottery tickets in a State is an appropriate means of executing. 2 Bac. Let these actual provisions of of the law, or any other provisions which can be made on the subject, be considered with a view to the character in which Congress acts when exercising its powers of exclusive legislation. As their legislation is subject to no negative, so their judgment is subject to no appeal. It is said, that without a power to sell the tickets, the power to draw the lottery is ineffectual. Whether any particular law be designed to operate without the District or not, depends on the words of that law. But I will endeavor in another way to show, that whenever the States shall have reached that point, either of corruption, or hostility, to the federal government, which they must arrive at before any of the extreme supposed violations of the constitution could occur, the jurisdiction now claimed for this Court would be utterly inadequate as a remedy. The next ground of objection to the jurisdiction is, that the writ of error is itself a suit against a State by a citizen of that or some other State. None can enlarge or abridge the jurisdiction of the judiciary of Virginia, except the people of Virginia, or the legislature of that State. 257, 6 Wheat. When a regulation for the mere internal police of the City is to be made, it is done by the Corporation, or some other inferior agent, without the interference of the President of the United States. Being so conferred, it carries with it all those incidental powers which are necessary to its complete and effectual execution. But, when an alteration of the plan of the City, or a public improvement affecting the whole of the City in a national point of view, is to be made, it is uniformly subjected to the control of the President. The alarm was general; and, to quiet the apprehensions that were so extensively entertained, this amendment was proposed in Congress, and adopted by the State legislatures. The Corporation of Washington were left free to act on the subject of lotteries. ld. We have no more right to decline the exercise of jurisdiction which is given, than to usurp that which is not given. Dig. 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