CRS Reports & Analysis Legal Sidebar Dude, Where’s My Jurisdiction? Congressional Efforts to Strip Federal Courts of Jurisdiction – 08/17/2016

“Federal courts, in presiding over lawsuits, have significant power over the citizenry’s life, liberty, and property, and that power can be exercised in a manner that may raise concerns with the legislative branch. One way Congress potentially can reduce the judiciary’s influence is by regulating federal court jurisdiction. Federal courts are limited to the jurisdiction granted by the Constitution, which, in Article III, authorizes federal courts to decide certain limited “cases” and “controversies.” Article III also authorizes Congress to determine what classes of “cases” and “controversies” inferior courts have jurisdiction to hear. A recent case decided by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Patchak v. Jewell, demonstrates how Congress, perhaps concerned by how a court might rule on a matter before it, might “strip” the court of jurisdiction to hear a case in the midst of litigation. Patchak highlights the scope of Congress’s authority to remove a class of cases from federal jurisdiction and the consequences for already pending lawsuits.”