By ©2025 Sarah Becker

The U.S. federal judiciary was created in 1788, with the Constitution’s ratification. Article III, Section 1: “The judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.” Congress first exercised its power in 1789.

It is Congress that “has the authority to organize and structure the federal court system,” the National Archives agreed. Inferior, as defined by the American Heritage dictionary: “Low or lower in order [inferior courts], degree, or rank.” The inferior federal courts in descending order: District [1789] and Appellate [1891].

President Donald Trump [R-FL, Nos. 45 & 47] explains inferior as an “estimation:” his estimation of the many “bad judges” now ruling against him. In early March Trump-47 accused U.S. District Chief Judge James E. Boasberg of “crooked behavior.” The case: a deportation matter related to the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. Chief Judge Boasberg found cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt of court in mid-April.

U.S. Representative Brandon Gill [R-TX], a member of Chairwoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) House Oversight Subcommittee for Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) also favors Judge Boasberg’s impeachment. On April 9 House Republicans passed the No Rogue Rulings Act [219-213], an Act intended to limit the scope of Judges injunctive relief.

President Trump’s comprehension of the executive branch: its power and or the absence of wears. It is Congress that has “the power ‘To lay and collect taxes, duties [taxes on imported goods], imposts and excises [U.S. Constitution Article 1, Section 8].” Elon Musk machinates as a SGE: a temporary, 130-day Special Government Employee who willfully ignores conflict-of-interest rules.

As of April 8 DOGE has laid off more than 280,000 federal employees, some by mistake. Trump continues to criticize collective bargaining; four IRS Directors have resigned, and District Judge Theodore Chung ruled “the dismantling of USAID likely violates the Constitution.” The “beautiful clean coal industry” was re-introduced; changes to the U.S. Postal Service, an independent agency within the executive branch are ongoing, and the National Park Service [NPS] was told its interpretation of the Underground Railroad erred.

According to The Washington Post the NPS website’s reference to “the Underground Railroad’s resistance to enslavement through escape and flight” violates President Trump’s January 20, 2025, Executive Order ENDING RADICAL AND WASTEFUL GOVERNMENT DEI PROGRAMS AND PREFERENCING.

Trump’s Executive Orders abound. His March 25, 2025, Executive Order for PRESERVING AND PROTECTING THE INTEGRITY OF AMERICAN ELECTIONS now belongs to the courts. His March 27, 2025, Executive Order RESTORING TRUTH AND SANITY TO AMERICAN HISTORY is off-putting.

The March 27 Order “prohibits expenditure on [Smithsonian] exhibits or programs that degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy.”

Former U.S. Representative [D-IN] and social reformer Robert Dale Owen [1801-1877] arrived in the United States from Scotland in 1825—aboard a ship known as the Boatload of Knowledge. Educated in natural science and medicine, U.S. Representative Owen introduced the hand-written Act which established the Smithsonian Institution.

A naturalized U.S. citizen, Owen served on the 1863 American Freedman’s Inquiry Commission. His book The Wrong of Slavery, the Right of Emancipation, And the Future of the African Race in the United States [1864] describes it all. A Spiritualist, Owen collaborated with Frances Wright; advocated for woman’s rights, women’s property rights including divorce.

Given billionaire Trump’s want to influence both the Smithsonian Institution’s 2025, 2026 National Education Summits and the “250th anniversary of American Independence [1776-2026];” multi-millionaire Greene’s occasional taunts, and Musk’s contested March 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court $2,000,000 voter lottery the public should not feel shy outing MAGA meddling. Musk spent more than $20 million of his own money on the Wisconsin Republicans Supreme Court election and lost.

“Within three years of his entry into national office, John Marshall [1755-1835] was Chief Justice of the United States, charged to protect the Constitution,” Faulkner and Carrese wrote. “In the most unpromising circumstances ever to greet a Chief, succeeding two comparably ineffectual predecessors, he went on to develop the semi-sacred authority of the Supreme Court.”

According to Chief Justice Marshall the “maxims of democracy” are “a strict observance of justice, public faith, and a steady adherence to virtue.” Marshall’s chosen ethicist: Rene Descartes [1595-1650].

“In cases of textual ambiguity Descartes is so fair to the opposing point of view that one can mount strong counterarguments simply on the basis of evidence,” Marshall mused.

Chief Justice Marshall’s decisions [1801-1835] are legendary, his work foundational. Trend-setting cases like: Marbury v. Madison [1803], Fletcher v. Peck [1810], McCulloch v. Maryland [1819], Cohens v. Virginia [1821] and Gibbons v. Ogden [1824].

Chief Justice Marshall, Marbury v. Madison: “…the particular phraseology of the Constitution of the United States confirms and strengthens the principle supposed to be essential to all written constitutions; that a law repugnant to the Constitution is void; and that courts as well as other departments, are bound by that instrument.”

Chief Justice Marshall, McCulloch v. Maryland: “The peculiar circumstances of the moment may render a measure more or less wise, but cannot render it more or less constitutional.”

The principle of implied powers; of separation of powers and judicial review are deep-seated. At no time, until maybe now, was devotion to the latter more vigorously intimated than in 1937. The then U.S. Supreme Court decided much of President Franklin Roosevelt’s [D-NY] New Deal legislation was unconstitutional.

Given the politics of the last 100+ days, readers are asking: how exactly does the U.S. Supreme Court enforce its decisions. Answer: The Court has no power to do so. It cannot compel Congress [the legislative branch] or the President [the executive branch] to enforce its rulings.

Enforcement of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Brown decisions [Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, 1954, and Brown II, 1955] fell to the executive branch. It was President Dwight D. Eisenhower [R-KS] who sent federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957 to ensure Central High School’s integration. An example of Congressional enforcement: The Voting Rights Act of 1965—Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder [2013].

“What is it that makes us trust our Judges?” Marshall asked in 1788, “Their independence in office and manner of appointment.”

“My gift of John Marshall to the people of the United States was the proudest act of my life,” President John Adams [F-MA] said in 1825. As for President Trump’s reference to the Smithsonian Institution’s “inconsistent ideologies”—he’s never outgrown the 1950s.

“Of all the American states, Virginia can lay claim to the most thorough control by an oligarchy,” historian V.O. Key, Jr., wrote in 1949. “Political power has been closely held by a small group of leaders who…have subverted democratic institutions and deprived most Virginians of a voice in their government.” Education was “neglected”—except for a 7th grade, state-listed history book: Simkin’s Virginia: History, Government, Geography.

The Byrd Organization [1890s-1960s] admitted “the textbook was purposely written with bias, glorification, and political cant.” Cant: hypocritical and sanctimonious talk, typically of a moral, religious, or political nature. Trump’s oligarchical, self-styled politics thrive on cant.

On March 30, 2025, President Trump announced plans to run for an unconstitutional third term. “The [nine U.S. Supreme Court Justices] independence in office…” is?

To what extent was the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent order “to facilitate the return” of a mistakenly deported Marylander a check on the Trump Administration?

About the Author – Sarah Becker started writing for The Economist while a graduate student in England. Similar publications followed. She joined the Crier in 1996 while serving on the Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association Board. Her interest in antiquities began as a World Bank hire, with Indonesia’s need to generate hard currency. Balinese history, i.e. tourism provided the means. The New York Times describes Becker’s book, Off Your Duffs & Up the Assets, as “a blueprint for thousands of nonprofit managers.” A former museum director, SLAM’s saving grace Sarah received Alexandria’s Salute to Women Award in 2007.  Email: abitofhistory53@gmail.com

Columnist’s Note: For those readers tracking judges impeachment I share the 5/6/2025 Fox News article below: