The Kable Doctrine, State Legislative Power and the Text and Structure of the Constitution

The Kable doctrine is one of the most important doctrines derived from the Constitution. However, its legitimacy, scope and application continue to be disputed. This article disaggregates the doctrine into three implications which limit state legislative capacity: the first Kable implication which protects the existence and integrity of the ‘State Supreme Courts’; the second Kable implication which protects the existence and integrity of ‘Other State Courts’; and the third Kable implication which prevents the abolition of a state’s ‘system’ of courts. It then argues that the first Kable implication is securely based in the text and structure of the Constitution, the second is not, and the third only to the extent that it prevents the abolition of all state courts, such that it is superfluous. The article concludes by advancing a working model of Chapter III which incorporates the first Kable implication, but not the second and third

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