The Commerce Court of the United States was a short-lived federal

trial court A trial court or court of first instance is a court having original jurisdiction, in which trials take place. Appeals from the decisions of trial courts are usually heard by higher courts with the power of appellate review (appellate courts). ...

. It was created by the Mann-Elkins Act in 1910 and abolished three years later.Urgent Deficiency Act, 63rd Congress, 1st session, ch. 32, , October 22, 1913. Effective December 31, 1913. The Commerce Court was a specialized court, given jurisdiction over cases arising from orders of the

Interstate Commerce Commission The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later Trucking industry in the United States, truc ...

and empowered with judicial review of those orders. The

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

was given appellate jurisdiction over the Commerce Court. The modern

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (in case citations, Fed. Cir. or C.A.F.C.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has special appellate jurisdiction over certain categories of cases in the U.S. federa ...

, created in 1982, has a purpose similar to the Commerce Court, although the Federal Circuit has broader jurisdiction.

Organization

The Commerce Court also had one of the more unusual structures in United States judicial history. There were five judges serving staggered five-year terms on the Commerce Court. These judges were, nonetheless,

Article III judge Federal tribunals in the United States are those tribunals established by the federal government of the United States for the purpose of resolving disputes involving or arising under federal laws, including questions about the constitutionality ...

s, and were to be reassigned to an appellate court when their term on the Commerce Court expired. Moreover, even while they served on the Commerce Court, they also served as an at-large appellate judge and could be assigned by the

Chief Justice of the United States The chief justice of the United States is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States and is the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. federal judiciary. Appointments Clause, Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution g ...

to any appellate court to help relieve the workload. Once the court was abolished, the four remaining judges of the court served out their lifetime appointment as at-large appellate judges. (The fifth judge of the court, Robert W. Archbald, had been

impeached Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eu ...

and removed from office.)

Judges

All of the judges who served on the Commerce Court were appointed by President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

. The court had no

chief judge Chief judge may refer to: In lower or circuit courts The highest-ranking or most senior member of a lower court or circuit court with more than one judge. * Chief judge (Australia) * Chief judge (United States) In supreme courts Some of Chief ...

, and no judge on the court achieved senior status. All of the judges ended their service with the court upon its abolition, except for Robert W. Archbald, who was impeached and convicted for corrupt practices, specifically soliciting and receiving gifts from persons doing business before the court. * This column refers only to the judges' terms in the Commerce Court.

Cases

* ''The Intermountain Rate Case'', 191 Fed 856 (1911) * ''The Pipe Line Cases, 204 Fed 798 (1913) * ''Shreveport Case'', 205 Fed. 380 (1913) * ''Tap Line Cases'', 209 Fed. 244 (1913) * ''Louisville & Nashville R. R. Co. v Interstate Commerce Commission'', 195 Fed. 541 (1912)* * ''Procter & Gamble Co. v. United States'', 188 Fed. 221 (1911) * ''Goodrich Transit Co. v Interstate Commerce Commission'', 190 Fed. 943 (1911) * ''Los Angeles Switching Cases'', 188 Fed. 229 (1911) 94 cases were docketed in the Commerce Court. 43 decisions were delivered, 22 appeals.

References

External links

Records of the United States Commerce Court
– National Archives
Federal Judicial Center

The Commerce Court
– a defense of the court written by Assistant Attorney General James Alexander Fowler
''Houston Railway v. United States'' (1916)
– HistoryCentral.com {{Authority control 1910 establishments in the United States 1913 disestablishments in the United States

Commerce Court Commerce Court is an office building complex on King and Bay Streets in the financial district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The four-building complex is a mix of Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, ar ...

Interstate Commerce Commission Courts and tribunals established in 1910 Courts and tribunals disestablished in 1913 Presidency of William Howard Taft