That power has at times been essential to this country. Obviously the growth of judiciary power is centered around the power of judicial review. The Judiciary Act of 1789 organized the federal court system. In the hierarchical structure of federal government the court system is also hierarchically structured. Jurisdiction is the ability of a court to hear a case.
Federal courts have two types of jurisdiction original jurisdiction and appellate jurisdiction.
The first is trial level jurisdiction. The second is the ability to review decisions of lower courts. In spirit this limits the court s power. They do not have constituents per se, hence no base of power outside of the constitution to legitimize their authority. While the cases and controversies may not practically keep the Court from picking and choosing which issues it seeks to hear and those it does not, it does set informal bounds upon the court in many areas of decision making.