Two Article III Queries

 

U.S. Constitution Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 states:

In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction.

It is customarily understood to mean this:

In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and [in] those [Cases] in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction.

But why can it not be equally understood as meaning this:

In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and [in all] those [Cases] in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction.

To put it another way: If “those” means “Cases,” and if “in” modifies “those,” then why should not “all” also modify “those”?

And, if “those” means “Cases,” then does that lean toward showing parity between “Cases” and “Controversies” (which is another term used in Article III)?

Seth

Seth Barrett Tillman, ‘Two Article III Queries,’ New Reform Club (July 21, 2023, 8:01 AM), <https://reformclub.blogspot.com/2023/07/an-article-iii-query.html>;