IV. Original Constitution of the Circuit Courts. -Unit of Territorial ant. ject-matter. United States as Plaintiffs. zens. - Between Citizens of different States. Aliens and CitiWho is a Citizen? Jurisdiction once attached, when not defeated. THE original constitution of the Circuit Courts of the United States, by Congress, was made by the Judiciary Act of Sept. 24, 1789. The growth of the country and the great increase of business of these courts have led, from time to time, to some changes; not in the structure and plan of the courts themselves, but to some expansion of their powers, and of the means for working them, to which reference may hereafter be made in the course of these lectures. But my present object is to describe to you what the general plan of these courts now is, without adverting to the changes which have been made in their structure since they were first established. I ought, however, to say, I think, that there has been no substantial change in the general structure and plan of these courts, or their relations to other courts, since they were established; and certainly the fact that this plan has been found to continue applicable and preferable under such vast changes of circumstances as have occurred between 1789 and the present day, shows, in the most conclusive manner, the wisdom of those by whom the plan was originally framed. And this general plan has not remained the same from want of attention to the subject; on the contrary, it has undergone, at various periods, the most searching and comprehensive examination; but notwithstanding there have been those, in Congress and out of Congress, who have set out with the idea that they could improve that plan, they have always come back to the conviction, or, at any rate, those who are clothed with the power to make changes have come back to the conviction, that no considerable changes could be made for the better; and these courts have remained to this day very much, in their general structure, in their jurisdiction, and in their relations to other courts, what they were as constituted in September, 1789. The purpose of this lecture, as I have said, is to exhibit to you this general plan, as it now exists; what are the means for working it, and what is the jurisdiction which is exercised by it; and by what judges, and through what rules of practice, this jurisdiction is applied. They who framed this system had five principal things to consider; first, the territorial divisions within and for which these courts were to act; second, the personnel of the courts, what judges were to constitute them; third, what jurisdiction should be assigned to them, - what parts of the judicial power of the United States these courts should exercise; fourth, whence should they derive their pleadings, their practice, and their rules of decision; and, fifth, what should be their relation to other courts. All these particulars the framers of this plan had to consider, and however obvious and clear it may now seem to us each would be, still at the time when the act of 1789 was passed it was an open field; and the authors of this judiciary system of the United States, so far as it was the subject of Congressional legislation, were at liberty to move in any direction. And when you look back to the guides and landmarks which might indicate one or the other course as proper, they will be found to be exceedingly few. To me it is a subject almost of wonder, that they should have made so few mistakes, and that in dealing with a subject so vast as this, in which they had so few guides, they should have taken the direction they did, and followed it so comprehensively and so steadily that it is almost impossible, with the wisdom that we have derived from experience since, to make any change for the better. The first of these questions to which I have adverted was, what territorial divisions they should establish within and for which these courts should be held. The Constitution was silent on the subject; it committed the entire power to Congress, and it was for Congress to fix upon some unit of territorial division within and for which these Circuit Courts should be held. You know that the unit of territorial division in England, and in each of the several States, at the time when this act was passed, was the county. What should be their unit, was the question they had to consider; and they fixed on the State as the unit, to be divided when and as circumstances should require; and as an exemplification of the principle, that, while each of the several States should be considered the unit of territorial division, still local interests were to be regarded, they made what was known at that time as the District of Maine, which was a part of Massachusetts, a district by itself. They also made a separate judicial district of Kentucky, which at that time was part of the State of Virginia. I mention this as showing that the framers of this act foresaw that, while they adopted the State as the territorial unit of the division of the country, within and for which the Circuit Courts were to be held, they nevertheless contemplated, and actually carried into effect, a still further division in the manner which I have men tioned; making the District of Maine and the District of Kentucky separate judicial districts. And that policy has been carried out since, in accordance with this original plan, so that, whenever the wants of a part of a State have required, for the distribution of justice among the people, and for the execution of the criminal laws of the United States, a further division of the territory of the State, that division has been from time to time made, and is in perfect harmony and accordance with the original plan. Thus, in the State of New York at the present time, there are three different districts, and it is contemplated, I believe, to make a fourth, and so in several of the other States; but these divisions into different districts are not merely in harmony with the original plan, as enacted in the manner I have mentioned, which erected certain separate districts within the States, but it is also as you will perceive as I proceed — in harmony with those principles in reference to the application of local law, which the framers of this act had in view at the time when it was passed. The next question which they had to consider with reference to this matter of the territorial division of the country was how far should the processes of these courts run. The Constitution and laws of the United States prevail throughout the whole territory of the United States, and are binding upon every individual citizen; but the question |