1. The authority vested in courts and judges to hear and decide cases and to make binding judgments on them; the power to construe and apply the law when controversies arise over what has been done or not done under it. • Under federal law, this power is vested in the U.S. Supreme Court and in whatever inferior courts Congress establishes. The other two great powers of government are the legislative power and the executive power. [Cases: Constitutional Law 67–75; Federal Courts 1.1; Judges 24. C.J.S. Constitutional Law §§ 169–214, 441; Judges§§ 35, 53–56, 59–65.]
2. A power conferred on a public officer involving the exercise of judgment and discretion in deciding questions of right in specific cases affecting personal and proprietary interests. • In this sense, the phrase is contrasted with ministerial power. See MINISTERIAL.
