Founding the third branch: Judicial greatness and John Jay's reluctance.

An essay is presented concerning the founding of the U.S. Supreme Court and the legacy of former U.S. Supreme Court chief justice John Jay. The author argues that Jay missed an opportunity to establish a legacy of judicial greatness that was achieved by subsequent chief justice John Marshall. The article examines Jay's political philosophy as demonstrated in the publication "The Federalist Papers," Jay's view of being a judge on the U.S. federal circuit, and the significance of the cases known as Hayburn's Case and U.S. v. Yale Todd in Jay's view of separation of power and judicial review.