ABSTRACT
The long resistance to circuit courts of appeals as the courts of last resort in the ordinary instances proves how unquestioned was the assumption that the Supreme Court was, as a matter of course, the guardian of all constitutional claims. The burdensome increase in the Court's business and the growing recognition of the availability of the circuit courts of appeals as fit means for deflecting litigation from the Supreme Court coincided with William H. Taft's appointment to the Court. One of the most fruitful sources of litigation over jurisdiction has been the language used to describe the basis for review of state court decisions. Jurisdictional problems are too technical and intricate to permit even the most skilled authorship to foresee all possibilities. Even though the Judiciary Act of 1925 was the product of more expert draftsmanship than any of its predecessors, it is not free from omissions and ambiguities.
