https://legal.excellentwiki.com/us/courts-and-judiciary/ Recent content in Courts and Judiciary on ExcellentWiki - Legal Encyclopedia Hugo en-US Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://legal.excellentwiki.com/us/courts-and-judiciary/us-federal-courts/ Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://legal.excellentwiki.com/us/courts-and-judiciary/us-federal-courts/ <h2 id="constitutional-foundation-article-iii">Constitutional Foundation: Article III</h2> <p>The federal court system of the United States derives its authority from Article III of the Constitution, which establishes a single Supreme Court and empowers Congress to ordain and establish inferior courts. Article III § 1 provides that federal judges &ldquo;shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour,&rdquo; a phrase universally understood to confer life tenure subject to removal only through impeachment. The same section guarantees that judicial compensation &ldquo;shall not be diminished during their Continuance in Office.&rdquo; Together, life tenure and salary protection constitute the structural guarantees of judicial independence that Alexander Hamilton defended in Federalist No. 78 as &ldquo;the citadel of the public justice and the public security.&rdquo;</p>