Tag: Courts
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Common Law Powers
Common Law Powers of District of Columbia CourtsThe portion of § 13 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 that authorized the Supreme Court to issue writs of mandamus in the exercise of its original jurisdiction was held invalid in Marbury v. Madison,1 a…
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Process of the Writ
Habeas Corpus: The Process of the WritA petition for a writ of habeas corpus is filed by or on behalf of a person in "custody," a concept which has been expanded so much that it is no longer restricted to actual physical detention in jail or prison.<a name=t1 href=#f1 target="_self&qu…
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Injunctive Power
Congressional Limitation of the Injunctive PowerAlthough some judicial dicta 1 support the idea of an inherent power of the federal courts sitting in equity to issue injunctions independently of statutory limitations, neither the course taken by Cong…
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Emergency Price Control Act of 1942
Injunctions Under the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942Lockerty v. Phillips 1 justifies the same conclusion. Here the validity of the special appeals procedure of the Emergency Price Control Act of 1942 was sustained. This act provided for a specia…
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Powers Over Process
The Rule-Making Power and Powers Over ProcessAmong the incidental powers of courts is that of making all necessary rules governing their process and practice and for the orderly conduct of their business.322 However, this power too is derived from the statutes and cannot go beyond them. The landmark…
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Award of Execution
Award of ExecutionThe adherence of the Court to this proposition, however, has not extended to a rigid rule formulated by Chief Justice Taney, given its fullest expression in a posthumously published opinion.1 In Gordon v. United States,<a name=t2 hr…
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Rule Making Power
Limitations to The Rule Making PowerThe principal function of court rules is that of regulating the practice of courts as regards forms, the operation and effect of process, and the mode and time of proceedings. However, rules are sometimes employed to state in convenient form principles of substant…
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Judicial Immunity
Judicial Immunity from SuitUnder common law-the Supreme Court has not elevated judicial immunity from suit to a constitutional principle-judges "are responsible to the people alone for the manner in which they perform their duties. If faithless, if corrupt, if dishonest, if partial, if oppressi…
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Appointment of Referees
Appointment of Referees, Masters, and Special AidsThe administration of insolvent enterprises, investigations into the reasonableness of public utility rates, and the performance of other judicial functions often require the special services of masters in chancery, referees, auditors, and other spec…
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Act of 1789
The Act of 1789The summary power of the courts of the United States to punish contempts of their authority had its origin in the law and practice of England where disobedience of court orders was regarded as contempt of the King himself and attachment was a prerogative process derived from presumed …
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Power to Admit Attorneys
Power to Admit and Disbar AttorneysSubject to general statutory qualifications for attorneys, the power of the federal courts to admit and disbar attorneys rests on the common law from which it was originally derived. According to Chief Justice Taney, it was well settled by the common law that "…
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Inherent Power
An Inherent PowerThe nature of the contempt power was described Justice Field, writing for the Court in Ex parte Robinson, 1 sustaining the act of 1831: "The power to punish for contempts is inherent in all courts; its existence is essential to …
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Contempt
Sanctions of the Investigatory Power: ContemptExplicit judicial recognition of the right of either house of Congress to commit for contempt a witness who ignores its summons or refuses to answer its inquiries dates from McGrain v. Daugherty.1 But the…
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First Amendment Limitations
First Amendment Limitations on the Contempt PowerThe phrase, "in the presence of the Court or so near thereto as to obstruct the administration of justice," was interpreted so broadly in Toledo Newspaper Co. v. United States 1 as to uphold …
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Habeas Corpus
Suspension of Habeas Corpus by the PresidentSee Article I, § 9.ResourcesNotes and ReferencesThis text about Habeas Corpus is based on "The Constitution of the United States…