Article III Section 1-2-3
Sec. 2 Clause 2
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" means the court hears a case in the first instance. "Appellate jurisdiction" means that the court hears a case only upon appeal of a previous decision from a lower court. The US Supreme Court has original jurisdiction in a few select kinds of cases—those involving ambassadors, for example. But in practice, the overwhelming majority of cases heard by the Supreme Court get there on appeal from lower federal courts or state courts.
Sec. 3 Clause 2
The Congress shall have Power to declare the Punishment of Treason, but no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted. Corruption of Blood! That sounds exciting. All it means is that the government cannot punish the relatives or descendents of someone convicted of treason; the maximum punishment for committing treason is death. In actual practice, the United States has never executed anyone for committing treason.
Sec. 2 Clause 3
The Trial of all Crimes, except in Cases of Impeachment, shall be by Jury; and such Trial shall be held in the State where the said Crimes shall have been committed; but when not committed within any State, the Trial shall be at such Place or Places as the Congress may by Law have directed. Someone accused of a crime in federal court has the right to have his trial heard by a jury of his peers, rather than decided solely by a judge. The Framers of the Constitution believed that trial by jury was a crucial bulwark of liberty, preventing any potentially tyrannical judges from abusing their power.
Sec. 1 Clause 1
The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the supreme and inferior Courts, shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour, and shall, at stated Times, receive for their Services, a Compensation, which shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office. Here the Constitution creates only the Supreme Court, granting it all "the judicial power of the United States." Thus the Supreme Court is the head of the judicial branch, just as the president is the head of the executive branch. This clause also gives Congress the power to create "inferior courts"—that is, lower-level federal courts that can serve under the Supreme Court to help the Supremes work though the federal caseload. In practice, over 200+ years of American history, Congress has passed laws establishing a large federal judiciary, comprising nearly 100 federal district courts, a dozen circuit Courts of Appeals, and several other types of special courts. Federal judges are appointed for life terms, and are paid salaries that cannot be cut during the time they remain on the bench.
Sec. 2 Clause 1
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. This section establishes the jurisdiction of the federal courts. Federal courts can decide cases involving federal law, disputes between different states, and disputes between residents of different states. (Cases involving state laws and disputes between residents of one state are heard in state courts.) The 11th Amendment, passed in 1795, curtailed federal jurisdiction in several types of cases involving state governments; that amendment accounts for the crossed-out bits here.
Sec. 3 Clause 1
Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court. The Framers of the Constitution took treason seriously. It was the one and only crime specifically defined in the Constitution. The requirement for two eyewitnesses to an overt act of treason to convict someone for the crime remains an odd wrinkle in the law today.
