- 3.2.1Judicial Power Extends To (Heads of Jurisdiction)not yet published Article III defines the reach of federal judicial power through nine enumerated categories of cases and controversies — broad enough to enforce national law uniformly and manage foreign relations, yet bounded enough to preserve state judicial authority over disputes that do not require a federal forum.
- 3.2.2Supreme Court Original and Appellate Jurisdictionnot yet published The Constitution fixes a narrow original jurisdiction for the Supreme Court — ambassador and state-party cases — and grants broad appellate jurisdiction over all other federal cases, subject to Congress's power to make exceptions; the Exceptions Clause has enabled the transformation from mandatory to discretionary review, producing a curated docket that resolves selected constitutional questions while permitting inconsistency in the cases the Court declines to hear.
- 3.2.3Trial by Jury and Venuenot yet published The jury trial clause is the only individual right in the original, unamended Constitution — guaranteeing that every serious federal criminal case is decided by a community jury in the state where the crime occurred — but the modern plea system has functionally displaced the jury in the vast majority of cases, and the venue requirement strains when crimes lack clear geographic boundaries.