| Venue: | SCOTUS |
| Facts: | McCardle was an obstreporous Southern journalist who opposed reconstruction after the Civil War. Eventually, he got imprisoned, and petitioned for his habeas corpus rights. The court heard the case, and then while it was being decided, Congress forced through (over the president's veto) an act denying the courts jurisdiction in cases based on appeals under the act of Febrary 5, 1867 (which was enacted to faciliate habeas corpus petitions to release carpetbaggers imprisoned in the South). |
| Posture: | Appeal from a circuit court, it seems. |
| Issue: | Does Congress's second act really take away jurisdiction here? |
| Holding: | Yes. The appeal is dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. |
| Rule: | Congress can restrict the court's jurisdiction, says the constitution. |
| Reasoning: | Jurisdiction is the power to declare the law-- if it is absent, a court really doesn't have much to do. |
| Dicta: | This doesn't affect things decided when we had jurisdiction, and it only affects those matters specifically described in the act. |