Did anybody who watched 24 on April 2nd catch the legal snafu regarding Palmer & Daniels' lawsuit?
Throughout the episode the Attorney General and Palmer's helpers kept referring to a suit filed before the Supreme Court. A suit comes before a court in one of two ways: it is filed directly before the court for a decision without being decided first by some other court (original jurisdiction) or it is appealed to the court from the decision of some lower court (appellate jurisdiction). The United States Constitution describes the Supreme Court's original and appellate jurisdiction. Let's look at the original first.
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.
U.S. Const. art. III, § 2, cl. 2.
The Supreme Court has already held that Congress cannot alter its original jurisdiction, either by extending or restricting it. Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137, 139 (1803). The Court has also held that Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls
referred to foreign ambassadors, ministers, and consuls, not U. S. Ambassadors, U. S. public ministers, or U. S. consuls. See Ex parte Gruber, 269 U.S. 302 (1925). Thus, the only way for a case to come for a first judgment before the Supreme Court is if it involves foreign ambassadors, foreign public ministers, foreign consuls, or states. Daniels and Palmer, though, are obviously not states and obviously both U.S. citizens. Thus, the case could not be brought before the Supreme Court originally. It would have to have been appealed to it.
An appeal to the supreme court seems (to me at least) highly unlikely given the circumstances and perhaps even the nature of the situation articulated in the show. Of course, whether my initial assessment is correct will depend on an examination of the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction. I'll look at that later.
