Article III of the Constitution included within the judicial power cases “arising under” the Constitution, federal laws, and treaties – otherwise known as federal question jurisdiction. Although Congress did not grant the federal courts general federal question jurisdiction until 1875, it did occasionally create limited federal question jurisdiction in specific areas. In the Osborn case of 1824, the Supreme Court was called upon to interpret the scope of “arising under” jurisdiction for the first time when it decided whether Congress had the constitutional authority to permit the Bank of the United States to sue and be sued in the U.S. circuit courts. The Court interpreted “arising under” jurisdiction broadly, holding that the Bank’s federal charter, without which the Bank could not exist or operate, was a potential “ingredient” of the case even if the case turned on the interpretation of state law. As a result, every case involving the Bank was one “arising under” the laws of the United States and was a proper subject of federal court jurisdiction.

Learn more about this case