Life of James Buchanan, Fifteenth President of the United States. v. 1 (of 2)Curtis, George Ticknor
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Life of James Buchanan, Fifteenth President of the United States. v. 1 (of 2)
Curtis, George Ticknor
Buchanan, James, 1791-1868
This section does not interfere, either directly or indirectly, with the
independence of the State courts in finally deciding all cases arising
exclusively under their own constitution and laws. It leaves them in the
enjoyment of every power which they possessed before the adoption of the
Federal Constitution. It merely declares that, as that Constitution
established a new form of Government, and consequently gave to the State
courts the power of construing, in certain cases, the Constitution, the
laws, and the treaties of the United States, the Supreme Court of the
United States should, to this limited extent, but not beyond it, possess
the power of reviewing their judgments. The section itself declares that
no other error shall be assigned or regarded as a ground of reversal, in
any such case as aforesaid, than such as appears on the face of the
record, and immediately respects the before-mentioned questions of
validity or construction of the said Constitution, treaties, statutes,
commissions, or authorities in dispute.
The minority of the committee will now proceed to advance, in a more
distinct form, a few of the reasons why, in their opinion, the 25th
section of this act ought not to be repealed.
And, in the first place, it ought to be the chief object of all
Governments to protect individual rights. In almost every case involving
a question before a State court under this section of the judiciary act,
the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States are interposed
for the protection of individuals. Does a citizen invoke the protection
of an act of Congress upon a trial before a State court which decides
that act to be unconstitutional and void, and renders judgment against
him? This section secures his right of appeal from such a decision to
the Supreme Court of the United States.
When a citizen, in a suit before a State court, contends that a State
law, by which he is assailed, is a violation of the Constitution of the
United States and therefore void (if his plea should be overruled), he
may bring this question before the Supreme Court of the United States.
In like manner, when an individual claims any right before a State court
under the Constitution or laws of the United States, and the decision is
against his claim, he may appeal to the Supreme Court of the United
States.
If this section were repealed, all these important individual rights
would be forfeited.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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