What 1789 law created the basic structure of the federal judiciary of the United States?

The Judiciary Act of 1789 created the basic structure of the federal judiciary of the United States.

Congress passed the law on September 24, 1789, during the first session of the new federal government. President George Washington signed it the same day. The act established the Supreme Court with a chief justice and five associate justices, although the number of seats later changed.

It also created federal district courts and circuit courts, organized the offices of federal judges and marshals, and established the role of the attorney general. The law gave the federal courts jurisdiction over cases specified by the Constitution and federal statutes.

The act was a foundational implementation of Article III of the Constitution, which had created a federal judicial power but left much of its practical structure to Congress. Its original arrangement was later modified by additional judiciary acts and Supreme Court decisions.