In the case of Marbury v. Madison,[4] the newly-elected president, Thomas Jefferson, ordered his acting Secretary of State not to deliver commissions for appointments that had been made by his predecessor, John Adams.
Since 1960, the Court has received fewer than 140 motions for leave to file original cases, nearly half of which were denied a hearing.
[6]Most of these cases involve disputes over state boundaries and water rights, but others center on tax or interstate pollution issues.
[1] Although it has not happened since 1794 in the case of Georgia v. Brailsford,[12][13] parties in an action at law in which the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction may request that a jury determine issues of fact.
[14] In 1950, in the case United States v. Louisiana,[15] the state of Louisiana moved for a jury trial, but the court denied the motion, ruling that the suit was an equity action and not an action at law, and that therefore the Seventh Amendment guarantee of a jury trial did not apply.
§ 1872: "In all original actions at law in the Supreme Court against citizens of the United States, issues of fact shall be tried by a jury.