nation.  Photography is  not allowed, and the arguments and dialogue between counsel and the justices are 
observed silently and respectfully by those who attend.” 
2 
Take a tour of the U.S. Supreme Court with CNN:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Unyswl36q8w 
Original (Trial Court) Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court: A Rarity 
When the Court acts as a trial court it is said to have original jurisdiction, and it does so in a few 
important situations, such as when one state sues another state. The U.S. Constitution, Art. III, §2, sets 
forth the jurisdiction of the Court. It states, 
“The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the 
Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority;-to all 
Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls;-to all Cases of admiralty and maritime 
Jurisdiction;-to Controversies to which the United States shall be a Party;-to Controversies between two or 
more States;-between a State and Citizens of another State;-between Citizens of different States;-between 
Citizens of the same State claiming Lands under Grants of different States, and between a State, or the 
Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects. 
In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall 
be Party, the Supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction. In all the other Cases before mentioned, the 
Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under 
such Regulations, as the Congress shall make.” 
Original jurisdiction cases are rare for several reasons. First, the Constitution prohibits Congress from 
increasing the types of cases over which the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction. Second, parties in an 
original jurisdiction suit must get permission by petitioning the court to file a complaint in the Supreme 
Court. In fact, there is no right to have a case heard by the Supreme Court, even though it may be the 
only venue in which the case may be brought. The Supreme Court may deny petitions for it to exercise 
original jurisdiction because it finds that the dispute between the states is too trivial, or conversely, too 
broad, and complex.  The Court does not need to explain why it refuses to take up an original jurisdiction 
case. Original jurisdiction cases are also rare because, except in suits or controversies between two states, 
the Court has increasingly permitted the lower federal courts to share its original jurisdiction. 
2. Scheb II, J.M. (2013). Criminal Law and Procedure (8th ed., pp. 45). Belmont, CA: Cengage. 
ALISON S. BURKE, DAVID CARTER, BRIAN FEDOREK, TIFFANY MOREY, LORE RUTZ-BURRI, AND SHANELL
SANCHEZ
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