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Cases that Shaped the Federal Courts
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201219232115im_/https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/styles/history_famous_trials_thumbnails/public/cases-that-shaped-the-federal-courts/categories/defining-the-judiciary.png?itok=1LBt30Hq)
Defining the Judiciary - Cases establishing what it means for a federal court to exercise “the judicial power.”
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201219232115im_/https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/styles/history_famous_trials_thumbnails/public/cases-that-shaped-the-federal-courts/categories/federal-jurisdiction.png?itok=V0p5ZLlB)
Federal Jurisdiction - Cases establishing the power of federal courts to hear certain types of controversies.
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201219232115im_/https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/styles/history_famous_trials_thumbnails/public/cases-that-shaped-the-federal-courts/categories/federalism.png?itok=opdHuQwf)
Federalism - Cases framing the relationship between federal court power and states’ rights.
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201219232115im_/https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/styles/history_famous_trials_thumbnails/public/cases-that-shaped-the-federal-courts/categories/habeas-corpus.png?itok=HGxq0JGL)
Habeas Corpus - Cases establishing the scope, availability, and importance of the “great writ of liberty.”
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201219232115im_/https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/styles/history_famous_trials_thumbnails/public/cases-that-shaped-the-federal-courts/categories/judicial-independence.png?itok=WETlynK1)
Judicial Independence - Cases preserving judges’ insulation from political influence and outside interference.
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201219232115im_/https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/styles/history_famous_trials_thumbnails/public/cases-that-shaped-the-federal-courts/categories/judicial-review.png?itok=-e9aDplo)
Judicial Review - Cases establishing the federal courts’ authority to determine the constitutionality of legislation.
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201219232115im_/https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/styles/history_famous_trials_thumbnails/public/cases-that-shaped-the-federal-courts/categories/justiciability.png?itok=xPI0cjuq)
Justiciability - Cases determining whether certain controversies are appropriate for judicial resolution.
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201219232115im_/https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/styles/history_famous_trials_thumbnails/public/cases-that-shaped-the-federal-courts/categories/non-adjudicatory-roles.png?itok=lZfaa4__)
Non-Adjudicatory Roles of Federal Judges - Cases setting the parameters of judges’ work outside the context of traditional courtroom litigation.
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20201219232115im_/https://www.fjc.gov/sites/default/files/styles/history_famous_trials_thumbnails/public/cases-that-shaped-the-federal-courts/categories/remedies.png?itok=-CS5PlSh)
Remedies - Cases outlining federal courts’ powers to resolve disputes and restore parties’ rights.