The lower federal courts played an important role in the development of American democracy from 1789 to 1842. In this article, Judge Robreno discusses the institutional and substantive sources which initially defined the lower federal courts’ authority and examines several examples of the application by the lower federal courts in Pennsylvania of these sources of institutional and substantive authority in their search for jurisdictional limits and substantive rules of law.
“Learning To Do Justice: An Essay On the Development Of The Lower Federal Courts In the Early Years Of The Republic.” 29 Rutgers L.J. 555 (1998).