Jurisdiction of the United States Federal Courts (4th Edition)

Author: David P. Currie (United States)
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2004-01-01
Features: The federal court system is not empowered to intervene in any legal dispute arbitrarily but must operate within its respective jurisdiction. This authoritative work reveals the constitutional origins of federal authority and its limitations. The book focuses on federal questions and cases involving citizens of different states. It primarily addresses jurisdictional issues, jurisdictional amount in controversy, maritime law, sovereign immunity, forum non conveniens, injunctions against prosecution, and the transfer of civil cases. Additionally, it covers the three-judge panel, trial location, and the application of law in federal courts. This book serves as a very practical guide to federal jurisdiction. Chapter "Congress and the Courts" discusses judicial review, the requirements for cases and suits, and Congress's management of federal court jurisdiction. Among these, the section "Cases and Suits" elaborates on the concepts of "cases" and "suits" mentioned in Article III of the Constitution, including finality, advisory opinions, standing, ripeness, mootness, political questions, and administrative questions. The section "Congress's Management of Federal Court Jurisdiction" explores Congress's limitations on federal court jurisdiction, legislative courts, the "Article III" power of "Article III" courts, and other related issues.
Chapter 2, "Federal Question Cases," discusses the identification of federal question cases and supplemental jurisdiction. The section "Identifying Federal Question Cases" explains constitutional jurisdiction, indirect federal questions, the party-plaintiff rule, and the incorporation of federal or state law. The section "Supplemental Jurisdiction" examines the jurisdiction of federal courts over state law claims in federal question cases.
Chapter 3, "Maritime Law," briefly outlines the jurisdiction of federal courts over maritime cases, including relevant laws and their impact on various types of cases.
Chapter 4, "Cases Involving Citizens of Different States," discusses the determination of citizenship, completely diverse citizenship, the citizenship of corporations and associations, and jurisdictional amount. The section "Completely Diverse Citizenship" explains how jurisdiction is determined when parties in a lawsuit hold citizenship in different states. The section "Corporations and Associations" covers the determination of the citizenship of corporations and associations and discusses jurisdictional issues in derivative lawsuits by shareholders. The section "Jurisdictional Amount" explains the specific rules for determining the amount in controversy and how to calculate jurisdictional amounts in cases with multiple claims.
Chapter 5, "Other Jurisdictional Issues," covers the raising of jurisdictional questions, exclusive jurisdiction, the relationship between state courts and federal officers, transfer, the duty of state courts to provide a forum, venue and service of process, and the transfer of trial location.
Chapter 6, "Federal Court Applicable Law," discusses the Erie rule, substantive and procedural law, the choice of state law among different states, federal general law, state courts' application of federal law, the 1983 Act allowing plaintiffs to sue local or federal officials for constitutional rights violations, and the Bivens rule.
Chapter 7, "Sovereign Immunity," elaborates on the principle of sovereign immunity in federal jurisdiction, including the waiver of sovereign immunity, lawsuits against government officials, official immunity, and immunity for Congress and the President.
Chapter 8, "Forum Non Conveniens and Related Principles," introduces several cases involving forum non conveniens in federal courts and discusses related principles, such as the exhaustion of administrative remedies, cases involving family relationships, and cases involving wills. The chapter also details the use of injunctions against prosecution by federal courts, including an introduction to the 2283 Act, as well as the feasibility of state courts issuing injunctions against federal trials.
Chapter 9, "Appeals and Ancillary Review," begins by introducing the U.S. Supreme Court's power to review state court judgments, explaining under what circumstances the Supreme Court can review state court rulings. The chapter then discusses the appellate review rights of federal district courts over state criminal judgments. The court reviews here are the constitutional rights violations of convicted defendants during their incarceration, a review also known as "habeas corpus." The subsequent section not only covers the procedural requirements for general criminal appellate review but also explains the appellate rights of federal system offenders and military court offenders.