【www.pindukj.com--涉外文书】
members ofthe Federalist Party.Second,Washingtons appointees of fered roughly equal geographic repre-sentation on the federal courts.Hisfirst six appointees to the Supreme Court included three Northerners and
three Southerners.
The chief justiceship was the most important appointment Washington made.The president felt that the manto head the first Supreme Court should be an eminent lawyer,states-man,executive,and leader.Many names were presented to Washington,and at least one person formally applied for the position.Ultimately,Washington settled upon John Jay of New York.Although only 44 years old,Jay had experience as a lawyer,
a judge,and a diplomat.In addition,he was the main drafter ofhis state first constitution.
The Supreme Court met for the first time on Monday,February 1,1790,in the Royal Exchange,a build-ing located in the Wall Street section of New York City,and its first session lasted just 10 days.During this period the Court selected a clerk,chose a seal,and admitted several lawyers to prac-tice before it in the future.There were,of course,no cases to be decided;the Court did not rule on a single case
during its first three years.In spite of this insignificant and abbreviated be-ginning,Charles Warren wrote,The New York and the Philadelphia news-papers described the proceedings of this first session ofthe Court more fully than any other event connected with the new government;and their accounts were reproduced in the lead-ing papers ofall the states.
During its first decade the Court decided only about 50 cases.Given the scarcity of Supreme Court business in the early days,ChiefJustice Jay’s contributions may be traced primarily to his circuit court decisions and his ju-dicial conduct.
Perhaps the most important of Jay contributions,however,was his insis-tence that the Supreme Court could not provide legal advice for the execu-tive branch in the form ofan advisory opinion.Jay was asked by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton to issue an opinion on the constitutionality of a resolution passed by the Virginia House ofRepresentatives,and Presi-dent Washington asked Jay for advice on questions relating to his Neutrality Proclamation.In both instances,Jay response was a firm No,because A ticle III ofthe Constitution provides that the Court is to decide only cases pertaining to actual controversies.
from：