[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 539 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 539

    To limit the jurisdiction of the Federal courts, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 14, 2009

Mr. Paul (for himself, Mr. Jones, and Mr. Poe of Texas) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To limit the jurisdiction of the Federal courts, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as ``We the People Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Article III, section 1 of the Constitution of the 
        United States vests the judicial power of the United States in 
        ``one Supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as Congress 
        may from time to time ordain and establish''.
            (2) Article I, section 8 and article 3, section 1 of the 
        Constitution of the United States give Congress the power to 
        establish and limit the jurisdiction of the lower Federal 
        courts.
            (3) Article III, section 2 of the Constitution of the 
        United States gives Congress the power to make ``such 
        exceptions, and under such regulations'' as Congress finds 
        necessary to Supreme Court jurisdiction.
            (4) Congress has the authority to make exceptions to 
        Supreme Court jurisdiction in the form of general rules and 
        based upon policy and constitutional reasons other than the 
        outcomes of a particular line of cases. (See Federalist No. 81; 
        United States v. Klein, 80 U.S. (13 Wall.) 128 (1872)).
            (5) Congress has constitutional authority to set broad 
        limits on the jurisdiction of both the Supreme Court and the 
        lower Federal courts in order to correct abuses of judicial 
        power and continuing violations of the Constitution of the 
        United States by Federal courts.
            (6) Article IV, section 4 of the Constitution of the United 
        States guarantees each State a republican form of government.
            (7) Supreme Court and lower Federal court decisions 
        striking down local laws on subjects such as religious liberty, 
        sexual orientation, family relations, education, and abortion 
        have wrested from State and local governments issues reserved 
        to the States and the People by the Tenth Amendment to the 
        Constitution of the United States.
            (8) The Supreme Court and lower Federal courts threaten the 
        republican government of the individual States by replacing 
        elected government with rule by unelected judges.
            (9) Even supporters of liberalized abortion laws have 
        admitted that the Supreme Court's decisions overturning the 
        abortion laws of all 50 States are constitutionally flawed 
        (e.g. Ely, ``The Wages of Crying Wolf: A Comment on Roe v. 
        Wade'' 82 Yale L.J. 920 (1973)).
            (10) Several members of the Supreme Court have admitted 
        that the Court's Establishment Clause jurisdiction is 
        indefensible (e.g. Zelamn v. Simmons-Harris, 536 U.S. 639, 688 
        (2002) (Souter, J., dissenting); Rosenberger v. Rector and 
        Visitors of the Univ. of Va., 515 U.S. 819, 861 (1995) (Thomas, 
        J., concurring); Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free 
        Sch. Dist., 508 U.S. 384, 399, (1993) (Scalia, J., concurring); 
        and Committee for Public Ed. And Religious Liberty v. Regan, 
        444 U.S. 646, 671 (1980) (Stevens, J., dissenting)).
            (11) Congress has the responsibility to protect the 
        republican governments of the States and has the power to limit 
        the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the lower Federal 
        courts over matters that are reserved to the States and to the 
        People by the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
        States.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON JURISDICTION.

    The Supreme Court of the United States and each Federal court--
            (1) shall not adjudicate--
                    (A) any claim involving the laws, regulations, or 
                policies of any State or unit of local government 
                relating to the free exercise or establishment of 
                religion;
                    (B) any claim based upon the right of privacy, 
                including any such claim related to any issue of sexual 
                practices, orientation, or reproduction; or
                    (C) any claim based upon equal protection of the 
                laws to the extent such claim is based upon the right 
                to marry without regard to sex or sexual orientation; 
                and
            (2) shall not rely on any judicial decision involving any 
        issue referred to in paragraph (1).

SEC. 4. REGULATION OF APPELLATE JURISDICTION.

    The Supreme Court of the United States and all other Federal 
courts--
            (1) are not prevented from determining the 
        constitutionality of any Federal statute or administrative rule 
        or procedure in considering any case arising under the 
        Constitution of the United States; and
            (2) shall not issue any order, final judgment, or other 
        ruling that appropriates or expends money, imposes taxes, or 
        otherwise interferes with the legislative functions or 
        administrative discretion of the several States and their 
        subdivisions.

SEC. 5. JURISDICTIONAL CHALLENGES.

    Any party or intervener in any matter before any Federal court, 
including the Supreme Court, may challenge the jurisdiction of the 
court under section 3 or 4 during any proceeding or appeal relating to 
that matter.

SEC. 6. MATERIAL BREACHES OF GOOD BEHAVIOR AND REMEDY.

    A violation by a justice or a judge of any of the provisions of 
section 3 or 4 shall be an impeachable offense, and a material breach 
of good behavior subject to removal by the President of the United 
States according to rules and procedures established by the Congress.

SEC. 7. CASES DECIDED UNDER ISSUES REMOVED FROM FEDERAL JURISDICTION NO 
              LONGER BINDING PRECEDENT.

    Any decision of a Federal court, to the extent that the decision 
relates to an issue removed from Federal jurisdiction under section 3, 
is not binding precedent on any State court.
                                 <all>