Constitutional Court

Constitutional Court in the United States

A court established under language contained in Article III of the federal constitution. Constitutional courts exercise judicial power granted from that article and are limited to the jurisdictional boundaries set forth there. Judges of constitutional courts are protected from decreases in compensation during their service and may hold tenure “during good behavior.” Constitutional courts are distinguished from legislative courts, which are established under powers conferred to Congress in Article I. Constitutional courts can only respond if an issue takes the form of a bona fide case or controversy, but may, under terms of the Declaratory Judgments Act of 1934, issue declaratory judgments. Examples of constitutional courts are the U.S. district courts and the U.S. court of appeals.

See Also

Declaratory Judgment (Judicial Organization) Legislative Court (Judicial Organization).

Analysis and Relevance

The constitutional courts established under Article III mandate are the most important federal courts. This category of court provides the basic judicial function in the federal system and decides the overwhelming majority of constitutional issues entering the federal courts. These are the courts that were intended from the outset of our constitutional history to receive insulation from the other branches of government to ensure their functional independence and the judicial role in the checks and balances system.

Notes and References

  1. Definition of Constitutional Court from the American Law Dictionary, 1991, California

Constitutional Court in the United States

Constitutional Court

United States Constitution

According to the Encyclopedia of the American Constitution, about its article titled 501 CONSTITUTIONAL COURTArticle III vests the federal judicial power in the Supreme Court and in any lower courts that Congress may create. The judiciary so constituted was intended by the Framers to be an independent branch of the government. The judges of courts established under Article III were
(read more about Constitutional law entries here).

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