The Supreme Court is established by Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of the United States, which says: "The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court .

The size of the Court is not specified; the Constitution leaves it to Congress to set the number of justices.

were decided, the Court comprised these seven justices: Cohens v. Virginia, 19 U.S. (6 Wheat.)

The Court had previously asserted a similar jurisdiction over civil cases involving U.S. parties.

Virginia also argued that the U.S. Constitution does not give the Supreme Court appellate jurisdiction over cases in which a state is a party.