To reach the Supreme Court, most cases must now be heard first in a court of appeals, then the highest Court is petitioned for a writ of certiorari, a legal order for the lower court to submit the case for review. This 1936 grant of certiorari resulted in a landmark case that confirmed the constitutionality of federal regulation of labor relations.
Records of the Supreme Court of the United States, National Archives and Records Administration
Order allowing certiorari, National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation, No. 419, October Term, 1936
Congress and the Court Collaborate
Beginning in 1891, Congress allowed the court some discretion over its docket, but still required it to hear many appeals from lower courts. By the 1920s, the Supreme Court was backlogged with cases stemming from World War I and enforcement of liquor prohibition. Congress, with advice from Supreme Court justices, made major changes to the court’s jurisdiction in 1925. The so-called “Judges’ Bill” relieved the Court by removing all but a small set of cases from its mandatory docket.
Congress determines the structure and authority of the federal court system. In 1925 Congress and the Supreme Court collaborated in redefining the highest court’s role and narrowing its jurisdiction.
To reach the Supreme Court, most cases must now be heard first in a court of appeals, then the highest Court is petitioned for a writ of certiorari, a legal order for the lower court to submit the case for review. This 1936 grant of certiorari resulted in a landmark case that confirmed the constitutionality of federal regulation of labor relations.
Records of the Supreme Court of the United States, National Archives and Records Administration
