Court’s in Session
This week marks 235 years since the first official session of the U.S. Supreme Court. While the legislative and executive branches get a lot more “real estate” in the U.S. Constitution, the Supreme Court had a slightly windier path to the form we now know. Throw on your robe, pick up your gavel, and let’s explore the early history of the Supreme Court.
Between the Lines
In the U.S. Constitution, the first three articles enumerate the responsibilities and powers of each branch. The first and longest, Article I, lays out the expansive scope of the legislative branch. This corresponds with the relative importance of representative government to the framers, considering that the legislative branch is directly elected by the people. Article II outlines the executive, leaving Article III for the judiciary. However, the actual text of Article III is short compared to Articles I and II.
A few key points are laid out in the text. These provisions include:
- the establishment of “one supreme Court” and the power of Congress to establish lower courts;
- lifetime appointments for federal judges;
- the right to a trial by jury (a provision influenced by England’s Magna Carta); and
- certain cases that are always handled by the Supreme Court.
The last point is what’s known as “original jurisdiction,” a classification of cases that is always heard first by the Supreme Court. Most of the cases you might hear about on the news are heard via “appellate jurisdiction,” simply meaning they were adjudicated by lower courts before they were sent on up to the Supreme Court. The highest court in the land has original jurisdiction over cases involving a dispute between two states, a dispute between a state and the United States, and cases “affecting Ambassadors” or other foreign dignitaries.
Clarifying the Court
It was therefore up to the first Congress to shape the inner workings of the new judicial system—they considered this a top priority. In fact, the very first bill introduced to the first Senate was the Judiciary Act of 1789.
The Judiciary Act made a few major additions to the federal judiciary. First, it created 13 individual judicial districts, establishing a system of circuit courts. Second, it stated that there would be only six justices. It also established that the Supreme Court would always have a “Chief Justice,” which is still the case today.
Some of these provisions didn’t survive to the present day, including a stipulation that Supreme Court justices “ride circuit” twice per year, or, in other words, periodically preside over lower circuit court cases. George Washington signed the bill into law because he was an ardent supporter of an independent judiciary, writing in 1790:
I have always been persuaded that the stability and success of the National Government…would depend…on the Interpretation and Execution of its Laws. In my opinion, therefore, it is important that the Judiciary System should not only be independent in its operations, but as perfect as possible in its formation.
Take a Seat
The first justices of the Supreme Court convened on February 2, 1790, at the Royal Exchange Building in New York City, the capital of the nation at the time. From 1791 to 1800, they met in various government buildings in Philadelphia. Then in 1800, the Supreme Court moved to the newly constructed U.S. Capitol, meeting in various parts of the building until the current Supreme Court building was erected in 1935.
Since Washington was the first President, he appointed all six judges to the bench. The first Chief Justice he selected was a lawyer named John Jay, a federalist and close political ally of Washington’s.
Most of the early meetings of the Supreme Court were purely administrative. The court did not deliver an official ruling until West v. Barnes (1791), which concerned a debt owed by a farmer who claimed his paper currency should be accepted by the lender. While the Supreme court heard the case, it was dismissed based on a technicality of how the appeal was filed.
Throughout its first decade, the Supreme Court established important precedents. Chief Justice John Jay resigned in 1795, and despite President John Adams' pleas, Jay declined reappointment in 1800. Adams then appointed John Marshall as Chief Justice. Marshall’s leadership profoundly shaped the court. He served for over 34 years, solidifying the court's role in American governance. Despite the initial mandate that the court be made up of six total justices, it gradually increased in size before stabilizing at nine members in 1869—a number that’s remained unchanged today.
While the early court may have looked different than the current one, the Judiciary Act and the initial meetings of the justices set the standard for a judiciary focused on resolving disputes and upholding constitutional authority. The National Archives holds all official rulings from the Supreme Court, including an extensive collection of oral argument audio files since 1955. Explore them online in the National Archives.
