 In United States v. Ortega ( 1826 ) , the Court held that it was not unconstitutional to vest original jurisdiction for the criminal trial of assaults on ambassadors in the circuit courts . The Court did not reach the question of whether the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court could be made concurrent with a lower court , instead holding that the criminal trial of an assault on an ambassador was not a " Case [ ] affecting Ambassadors , other public Ministers and Consuls " within the meaning of Article Three . Justice Washington , the author of the Court 's opinion , had also delivered the jury charge below . 
