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The Federal “Claim” In The District Courts: Osborn, Verlinden, And Protective Jurisdiction, Carlos Manuel Vázquez

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

In the title of his influential article, “The Federal ‘Question’ in the District Courts,” Professor Paul Mishkin reminded us that the phrase “federal question” is a misnomer as a description of the “arising under” jurisdiction of the district courts. The purpose of the “arising under” jurisdiction of the district courts is not solely, or even primarily, to resolve disputed questions of federal law, but to provide a hospitable forum for the vindication of federal rights. Such rights can be frustrated by an inhospitable forum not just through the misinterpretation of federal law, but through misinterpretation of state law or through …