In 1916, Congress gave the Supreme Court more control over which cases it would hear. A federal statute provided that in cases involving a number of specific statutes (including the Federal Employers' Liability Act of 1908, which forced the Court to hear appeals in a large number of suits by railroad workers against their employers for injuries sustained on the job), decisions of the U.S. courts of appeals would be final unless the Supreme Court elected to grant certiorari. In addition, the law changed from mandatory to discretionary the Court’s jurisdiction over cases in which a state court had ruled against a right or privilege claimed under the U.S. Constitution or federal law. State court decisions against the validity of federal laws remained subject to mandatory Supreme Court jurisdiction.
See also: