Congressional Authority to Restrict Lower Federal Court Jurisdiction

Separation of powers in the federal government inevitably generates conflicts among the branches.In recent years the executive branch's authority to impound funds appropriated by Congress' and to make war without congressional approval 2 has been questioned.In earlier days debate raged over the Supreme Court's authority to nullify legislation passed by Congress.3A recurrent example of this phenomenon has been the struggle between Congress and the judiciary over the scope of congressional control of federal court jurisdiction.The recent controversy over school busing has highlighted this problem.The problem is, however, neither novel nor peculiar to the busing issue.In considering the first judiciary act Congress debated the scope of its authority to regulate the jurisdiction of the federal courts.4 In the last twenty years unpopular decisions by federal courts, particularly the Supreme Court, have led to serious discussions of curtailing federal court jurisdiction.After Brown v. Board of Education 5 there was a movement to withdraw Supreme Court jurisdiction to hear school desegregation cases.0 During and after the McCarthy era, and perhaps in response to it, the Supreme Court conferred upon citizens what some felt to be unduly broad protection from legislative investigations.7 This prompted