The Judiciary Act of 1891 is also known as what?

• A. The Certiorari Act
• B. The Writs of Certiorari Act
• C. Also known as the Certiorari Act
• D. The Circuit Court Jurisdiction Act

Answer: (C)

The main idea is how the act reshaped how the Supreme Court reviews lower-court decisions by using certiorari. It created the U.S. Courts of Appeals and gave the Supreme Court discretionary authority to hear cases through writs of certiorari, rather than automatically reviewing every appeal. This shift to certiorari review became the defining feature of the act, which is why it’s commonly labeled the Certiorari Act. The other names would emphasize different labels or parts of the system, but they don’t capture the central change: establishing certiorari as the mechanism for Supreme Court oversight of the circuit courts.