Article Three of the United States Constitution

**Article Three of the United States Constitution** creates the judicial branch of the United States government.  It creates the Supreme Court of the United States, and allows the United States Congress to create less powerful  courts.  It also sets out the powers that these courts have.

## Section 1: Federal courts 
Section 1 of Article Three starts out by creating the Supreme Court  one court that will be more powerful than any other court in the country.  It also gives Congress the power to create "inferior" (less powerful) federal courts.

Before it won its independence in the American Revolutionary War, America was a colony of the British Empire.  The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution just four years after the War ended.  They still remembered what the courts in the American colonies were like.  As Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence, Britain's King George III "made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries."

This meant that the judges could not be independent or .  If they made a decision that King George did not like, they could be fired, or not paid.  Judges who wanted to keep their jobs made decisions based on what King George would want, not based on what the law said.  If judges are cannot be independent, or do not follow they law, courts are not fair, and there is no way for regular people to get justice.

The Constitution makes sure that this will not happen to United States federal judges.  By saying judges "shall hold their Offices during good Behavior," Section 1 is basically allowing judges to keep their jobs for the rest of their lives.  (This is what Section 1 means by behavior that is not "good.")  In other words, the Constitution makes sure that all judges will lose their jobs for making even the slightest unpopular decision.  This denies judges the freedom to be independent, and to make the decisions that they think are fair, and makes them choose between right and reelection.

In both Section 1 and in Article One, Section 8, the Constitution gives Congress the right to create courts that are "inferior" to the Supreme Court.  However, the Constitution does not say how many "inferior" courts there should be, or how they should be set up.  It leaves those decisions to Congress.
** The **U.S. Tax Court**, which deals with disagreements between taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service.  This helps Congress with its power to collect taxes.
** The **U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces**, which hears appeals of some cases that were tried in military courts.  This helps Congress with its power to regulate the military.
** The **U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims**, which can review the decisions of the Board of Veterans' Appeals (an executive department).  For example, if a veteran files for disability benefits and the Board refuses them, the Court of Appeals could hear the case.
** The **U.S. Court of Federal Claims**, which hears cases that involve claims for money damages against the Federal government.

## Section 2: Judicial power, jurisdiction, and trial by jury 
### Clause 1: Cases and controversies 
Clause 1 of Section 2 explains the powers the federal court has, and the limits of those powers.

Clause 1 gives the federal courts the power to hear and judge actual "cases and controversies" only.  This means that the federal courts can only review or change the decisions of state supreme courts if the state decision may have broken a federal law or the Constitution.  The federal courts had no power to review or change state supreme court decisions that were just based on state laws.  Basically, this gave each state supreme court the final say over the laws in their state.  Different states could decide completely different things, so the laws might be completely different in one state than another.

In *Marbury v. Madison* (1803), the Supreme Court ruled that Congress cannot change the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction.  However, the appellate jurisdiction of the Court is different. Congress is able to make the rules for the federal courts' appellate division, including rules about their jurisdictions.
* The answer to the lawsuit depends in some way on the Constitution or on federal law
* The plaintiff's argument has to do with the Constitution or federal law

### Clause 3: Federal trials 
 painting of a jury.]]
Clause 3 of Section 2 says that federal crimes have to be tried in front of a jury, unless the defendant does not want a jury.

Clause 3 also says the person's trial must be held in the state where they did the crime.  If they did not do the crime in any particular state, then Congress gets to choose where the trial will be held.

## Section 3: Treason 
### Clause 1: Definition and conviction
The last section of Article 3 talks about treason and how it should be punished.  The Founding Fathers wanted to make sure that Americans' rights were protected.  They also knew that in the past, in England, some kings had gotten rid of their political  just by accusing them of treason.
, who were executed for treason in 1953 for spying and giving the Soviet Union information about the atomic bomb]]

The Constitution is very specific about what crimes are treason:

### Clause 2: Punishment
Finally, Section 3 talks about punishment for people found guilty of treason.  It gives Congress the power to decide the punishment.  However, there is one punishment that the Constitution does not allow: punishing a person's family and descendants for that person's crime.  This meant that not only the person, but their family and heirs, would be punished and thought of as guilty.  Once a person was "attainted," they would be executed.  However, their heirs would also lose the right to inherit that person's land, property, or money.

The end of Section 3 specifically says that this punishment is not allowed.  When the Founders wrote "no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted," they meant: "No heirs may be punished, and Congress can make the traitor forfeit (give up) their property, but only during their lifetime."  Their heirs would have to be able to inherit their property when the traitor died.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        
## Notes
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