Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1816-01-27

derth authority ct the United States,
shall be the supreme law of the land and
the Judges in every State shall be bound
thereby. From this obligation no exeu,p-
ton viii be claint 4 for the State Courts.
But 1t imposes Subsection 10 the coust;tu
ton, ani TO the laws and treaties maCe III
der its authority; not subsection to the
Federal Courts. What that constitution
is, what those laws and treaties are. n,.st,
III cases Coming before the State Courts,
be dc ided by the State Judges, according
TO Meir O50a Judgments aud uh0n their
o7vh Acknowledgements Tie opinions Of the
Federal Courts, they viii always pay the
respect which is due to tic opinions OF o.
Their learned and upr. gh, ladges ; and more
especially when it is considered thlt all
the cases of federal cognizance, may, as
shall hereafter cndeavour TO prove, be
or ginally carried before tic Federal
Courts, and probably woul always be car
ried there, unless ;hcre should be con
iorni,y between the decisions OF the State
Courts, and of the FeGeri Courts. The
CoHrts OF tlis State have furnished repeat
ed evidences OF this respect .or the Jeci-
ST ms Of the Federal CourtS--but 1t is res
hect Only, and not the Cknowlcdgem mt of
corctYSiUe authority.
Sach are my conclusions from the gener-
al character and principles Of our Irstitu
mons. They are strengthened and confirm.
eel by AN examination Of the particular
Clauses CT the constitution Concerning the
Judiciary.
Ihe FIRST section oe the 81 article de-
Cares, that the judi il! power of the u.
states shall be vested in one Supreme
Court, aHd in su h Ioferior Courts as the
Congress may, from time to time, ordain
ana est 'bl;sh. The Judges both of the Su-
pr me aad Interior Courts shall hold their
oinces during good behaviour, and shall at
stated times, receive for their seryices
compensation, which shall not be diminish
eu during their continuance i'll Office" The
obvious meaning of this clause is, 70 dcsig-
nate the organs by which the u States
are to exercise the Judicial powers with
winch they are Invested. The C organs
are Federal Ccurts. he'd by Judges com
mssioned by the President Of the United
otates, independent by the stability of their
compensation and of the tenure of their Of
ilcSs' and responsible by their liability to
impeachment and trial before the St nate
OF the y. States for ms5ehaviour in Of
fee.
II THIS Court should now proceed to en-
ter 4 Judgment in this case, according 20
the Instructions Of the Supreme Court, the
jill iSes OF IN Court, in doing so, must act
either as Federal or as Sta,e Judges-3ut
we cannot be made Federal Judges thout
cur consent, and without commissions
both these requisites being wanting, the
act could not, therefore, be done by us,
constitutionally, as Federal Judges We
must, then, IN obey'ng this mandate, be
considered still as state Judges w are
required as State Judges, tn enter up
judgment n.t a. L,,k I
presc ibed to us by another Court. This
as to Us would be either a judicial or a
ministerial aCt--if it be the latter, | pre-
sumo it Will not be commended that he Fed
erai Court has The right to make The judy
es Of this Court its ministerial agents-I.et
II then be d judicial act. But, before one
Ceurt can dictate to another,the Judgment
it shall pronounce, it must bear, TO that
other, the relation of an appellate Court
he term appellate, however, necessarily
includes the idea of Suteriority But one
Court Cannot be correctly sad to be 8u
reTigT to another, unless both of them be-
long to the same sovereignty. Ii would be
a misapplcation Of terms to say that a
Court OF Virginia is Suherior to Court
Oh Maryland, or Vice UerSG. The Courts
OF the United States, therefore, belonging
70 one sovereignty, cannot be appellate
Courts in relation to The State Courts,
whlch bclong to different sovereignty
and OF course, their commands or ,nstruc-
II ms impose no obligation.
The second section OF the Sd article G.
numerateS the cases to which the judicial
power ofthe United States shall extend
and the 9Th section of the first article de
clares that Congress shall have power to
make all laws which shall be necessary
and proper fr carrying into execution all
the powers vested in the general govern
ment. or any department thereof. But
THIS eli ctuating power, as it has been ter
med, must, Of necessity, be limited TO
constitutional means. In relation to Judi
cial powers, these means have been AREA
dy shewn to be federal Courts, and Judges
duly commissioned-But the act of Con
gress now under Consideration, attempts,
IN fact, to make thu State Courts IaE77or
Federal Courts, aud to exercise fAfoneh
them, jurisdiction over the subjects of fe-
deral cognzanCe. The State jurisdiction
had expend d itself on the rendition of the
Judgment heretofore pronounced, or rath-
or, was suspended by the writ of err r
awarded to that judgment. All that has
been subsequently done, has been confess
edly nothing more than the exercise OF
federal jurisdiction, in federal Court Z,
II VIC were now to obey this mandate, it
would be only continuation Of the same
Jurisdiction ; it would be the same Court
pronouncng its judgment through us, who
nos being commissioned, ave not bound nor
authorised to become such org ms