Wellness International Network, Limited v. Sharif (575 U.S. 665)

U.S. Supreme Court · decided May 26, 2015 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)

Citation
575 U.S. 665 · 135 S. Ct. 1932
Decided
May 26, 2015
Term
October Term 2014
Vote
6–3
Majority author
Justice Sotomayor
Issue area
Judicial Power
Disposition
Reversed and remanded
Outcome
Petitioning party won
Ideological direction
Liberal

Opinion excerpt

Justice SOTOMAYOR delivered the opinion of the Court. Article III, § 1, of the Constitution provides that “[t]he judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supremé Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.” Congress has in turn established 94 District Courts and 13 Courts of Appeals, composed of judges who enjoy the protections of Article III: life tenure and pay that cannot be diminished.. Because these protections help to ensure the integrity and independence of the Judiciary, “we have long recognized that, in general, Congress may not withdraw from” the Article III courts “any matter which, from its nature, is the suN ject of a suit at the common law, or in equity, or in admiralty.”- Stern v. Marshall, 564 U.S.-,-, 131 S.Ct. 2594, 2609, 180 L.Ed.2d 475 (2011) (internal quotation marks omitted). Congress has also authorized the appointment of bankruptcy and magistrate judges, who do not enjoy the protections of Article III, to assist Article III courts in their work. The number of magistrate and bankruptcy judgeships exceeds the number of circuit and district judgeships. And it is no exaggeration to say that without the distinguished service of these judicial colleagues, the work of the federal court system would grind nearly to a halt. Congress’ efforts to align the responsibilities of non-Artiele III…

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