Jurisdiction Commons^™

Jurisdiction And "Definitional Law", John F. Preis

Law Faculty Publications

Professor Scott Dodson and I agree that the law of federal jurisdiction needs improvement. We disagree, however, on Congress’s power to make that happen. In an article published in 2017, Dodson argued that “jurisdiction” has an “inherent identity” that “[n]either Congress nor the courts can change.” In an article published the following year, I critiqued this claim. There, I argued that Congress is not obliged to respect jurisdiction’s inherent identity (to the extent it might have one). Rather, Congress need only respect the identity of jurisdiction contained in the United States Constitution. Professor Dodson recently published a rejoinder to my …

Of Hats And Robes: Judicial Review Of Nonadjudicative Article Iii Functions, Jeffrey L. Rensberger

University of Richmond Law Review

We are accustomed to thinking of Article III courts and judges deciding cases and controversies. But, federal judges and courts have historically also engaged in official but nonadjudicative activities. In addition to a history of federal judges serving on nonjudicial commissions, federal judges and the Supreme Court participate in the rulemaking process for the federal procedural and evidentiary rules. Although some argue to the contrary, the Supreme Court has approved such arrangements in the face of separation of powers objections. Since Article III officers and courts perform nonadjudicative duties, the question arises of how federal courts who address a challenge …

Jurisdictional Idealism And Positivism, John F. Preis

Law Faculty Publications

“If I should call a sheep’s tail a leg, how many legs would it have? Four, because calling a tail a leg would not make it so.” This old quip, often attributed to Abraham Lincoln, captures an issue at the heart of the modern law of subject matter jurisdiction. Some believe that there is a Platonic ideal of jurisdiction that cannot be changed by judicial or legislative fiat. Others take a positivist approach and assert that jurisdiction is nothing more than whatever a legislature says it is. Who is right?

Neither and both. Although neither idealism nor positivism is the …

In Re Trulia: Revisited And Revitalized, Emma Weiss

Law Student Publications

"After an escalation in deal litigation that culminated with challenges to 95% of $100,000,000 deals, merger objection litigation that ends in disclosure-only settlements has become a topic of great concern. These cases are concerning because it seems implausible that 95% of all mergers are executed carelessly. The problematic cases all follow a similar pattern. When a merger is announced, multiple shareholder plaintiffs challenge the transaction in multiple jurisdictions. Plaintiffs and corporate defendants then quickly agree to a disclosure-only settlement, wherein the plaintiffs receive trivial supplemental disclosures about the transaction. In return, defendants receive a broad release from liability for future …

Rethinking Removal And "Relates To": International Arbitration Disputes And The N.Y. Convention, Holly Wilson

University of Richmond Law Review

Part I explores the historical roots of the Convention,

discusses the evolution of its removal provisions, and explains how

it functions in the district courts today. Part II addresses the arguments

in favor of reverting to the Ruhrgas standard. This article

demonstrates that the current judicial interpretation of the Convention's

removal provisions under Beiser is too broad and that the

stricter construction under Ruhrgas should be re-adopted. Part II

examines three key reasons why the current Beiser standard is unworkable:

the current standard (1) leads to absurd results, (2) disrespects

notions of federalism and strains comity, and (3) in conjunction …

In Re Trulia: Revisited And Revitalized, Emma Weiss

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

When Is It Necessary For Corporations To Be Essentially At Home?: An Exploration Of Exceptional Cases, Priscilla Heinz

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Dizzying Gillespie: The Exaggerated Death Of The Balancing Approach And The Inescapable Allure Of Flexibility In Appellate Jurisdiction, Bryan Lammon

University of Richmond Law Review

In Part I, I provide necessary background on the current re- gime of federal appellate jurisdiction before turning to the rise and fall of Gillespie and the balancing approach. Part I concludes by explaining how inconsistent Gillespie and the balancing approach are with the Supreme Court's current approach to appellate jurisdiction. Part II turns to five areas in which the balancing approach persists in the courts of appeals and demonstrates the influence of the balancing approach, and the often case-by-case nature of decision-making, in each of these areas. And in Part III, I explore the implications of the balancing approach's …

A Further Note On Federal Causes Of Action, John F. Preis

Law Faculty Publications

In the article, I argue that federal causes of action ought to be treated as (1) distinct from substantive rights, (2) synonymous with the availability of a remedy (but not whether a remedy will in fact issue) and (3) distinct from subject matter jurisdiction (unless Congress instructs otherwise). This thesis is built principally on a historical recounting of the cause of action from eighteenth century England to twenty-first century America. In taking an historical approach, I did not mean to argue that federal courts are bound to adhere to centuries-old conceptions of the cause of action. I merely used history …

The Complexities Of Judicial Takings, D. Benjamin Barros

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Review Of The Law In Jurisdictions Requiring Electronic Recording Of Custodial Interrogations, Alan M. Gershel

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Although not constitutionally required, it has become considerably more commonplace for law enforcement to electronically record a suspect’s custodial interrogation. This includes a complete recording, beginning with the advice of rights and continuing through the end of the interrogation. In fact, society now recognizes it as a useful, if not necessary, tool for law enforcement.

Taxation, Craig D. Bell

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Independent Of The Constitution?--Issues Raised By An Independent Federal Legislative Ethics Commission With Independent Enforcement Authority, Paul Taylor

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Indirect Infringement From A Tort Law Perspective, Charles W. Adams

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bureaucratization And Balkanization: The Origins And Effects Of Decision-Making Norms In The Federal Appellate Courts, Stefanie A. Lindquist

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

When Offshore Activities Become Infringing: Applying § 271 To Technologies That “Straddle” Territorial Borders, Eric W. Guttag

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Patents have traditionally been territorial creatures. The territorial nature of U.S. patents is reflected by the main infringement statute, § 271 of Title 35. For example, § 271(a) says that “whoever without authority makes, uses, offers to sell, or sells any patented invention, within the United States or imports into the United States any patented invention during the term of the patent therefore, infringes the patent.”

Questioning Quirin, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Louis Fisher's new work, Nazi Saboteurs on Trial: A Military Tribunal and American Law3 (Nazi Saboteurs), and his valuable contribution to illuminating Ex parte Quirin merit scrutiny. In this Review, I first descriptively assess Nazi Saboteurs. The Review then treats the monograph's numerous beneficial features and ascertains that it enhances understanding of the important decision in Quirin. I conclude with several recommendations for future analysis of Quirin's impact.

Jurisdiction And Discretion In Hybrid Law Cases, John F. Preis

Law Faculty Publications

An everlasting debate in the federal courts field is which branch of the federal government has the power to control federal jurisdiction. While some commentators and judges assert that the judiciary has the implicit authority to refine the boundaries of its jurisdiction, others argue that Article III vests that authority with Congress only and judicial modification of jurisdiction is illegitimate. In focusing almost entirely on the constitutional legitimacy of the question, this debate has overlooked an important consideration: Even if the judiciary may legitimately wield discretion in setting its jurisdiction, is such discretion functionally appropriate?

This Article argues that such …

Doing Right By Charles Alan Wright, Carl W. Tobias

Law Faculty Publications

Review of Charles Alan Wright & Mary Kay Kane, Law of Federal Courts (6th ed. 2002)

A Nice Place To Visit But I Wouldn't Want To Litigate There: The Effects Of Cybersell V. Cybersell On The Law Of Personal Jurisdiction, W. David Falcon Jr.

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

In a world divided by barriers of language and culture, the Internet is the nexus that connects the most rural outposts of technology to the global business centers. The Internet's most popular user interface, the World Wide Web, is an interwoven network of computers through which news and information can traverse international barriers in a matter of seconds. Using an Internet Service Provider ("ISP") and a personal computer, the average user can access the World Wide Web and enter the largest repository of public information on the planet. The boundaries are virtually limitless, and the general absence of content restrictions …

Compuserve V. Patterson: Creating Jurisdiction Through Internet Contacts, Cheryl L. Conner

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Throughout American legal history the adequacy of traditional jurisprudence has been tested by technological developments. The creation and expanded use of the Internet is the latest of these advancements. There are, however, characteristics of the Internet that distinguish it from past technological breakthroughs. These features include the difficulty of defining the Internet in traditional terms, the plethora of the contacts taking place, and the speed at which the Internet is expanding.

Who? What? When? Where? Personal Jurisdiction And The World Wide Web, Yvonne A. Tamayo

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

Almost everyone, it sometimes seems, is "working on a Web site." The Internet, a seamless web of communication, has broken down barriers of distance and time among people. At the same time it has made increasingly porous the conventional boundaries between the tangible and the abstract. Many business entities have created their own World Wide Web pages on the Internet, in order to deliver their advertising messages instantaneously to potential customers anywhere in the world. Increasingly, lawsuits are being filed against these businesses engaged in electronic commerce.

The New Supplemental Jurisdiction Statute--Flawed But Fixable, Wendy Collins Perdue

Law Faculty Publications

A critique of the newly enacted 28 U.S.C. § 1367, which delineated the circumstances under which federal courts could rule on additional claims related to the one that is the basis of federal jurisdiction.

Personal Jurisdiction And The Beetle In The Box, Wendy Collins Perdue

Law Faculty Publications

In 1980 in World-Wide Volkswagen v. Woodson, the Supreme Court described personal jurisdiction as "an instrument of interstate federalism." Two years later in Insurance Corporation of Ireland v. Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinee, the Court back-pedaled and explained that personal jurisdiction "represents a restriction on judicial power not as a matter of sovereignty, but as a matter of individual liberty." Then, in 1985 in Phillips Petroleum v. Shutts, the Court explained that the purpose of personal jurisdiction is "to protect a defendant from the travail of defending in a distant forum." Three years later in Van Cauwenberghe v. Biard, …

Finley V. United States: Unstringing Pendent Jurisdiction, Wendy Collins Perdue

Law Faculty Publications

The approach adopted by the Supreme Court in Finley v. United States calls into question not only pendent-claim jurisdiction but ancillary jurisdiction as well. Particularly vulnerable to attack are those uses of ancillary jurisdiction that involve the addition of new parties such as class action, intervention, and impleader. Furthermore, the opinion may lay a foundation for attacking ancillary-claim jurisdiction involving counterclaims or cross-claims. This commentary will examine Finley and the potential impact of the opinion on the various permutations of ancillary and pendent jurisdiction.

An Analysis Of The Law Of The Sea And Outer Space Law : Claims Over The Natural Resources Of The "Commons", Robin Elizabeth Lewis

Master's Theses

As new areas of the world and outer space have been discovered and explored, man has had to develop regulations to govern the use of these new areas. However, it was not until man possessed the technological means of extracting or using the resources of these new areas that there was an urgent need to develop regulations for the oceans and space. Although some regulations have been established in regards to such areas as the deep sea-bed and remote sensing, there is still a need for the international community's acceptance of these laws. Under-developed nations view the resources discovered within …

Sin, Scandal And Substantive Due Process: Personal Jurisdiction And Pennoyer Reconsidered, Wendy Collins Perdue

Law Faculty Publications

Professor Perdue recounts the underlying story of the U.S. Supreme Court's seminal personal jurisdiction case, Pennoyer v. Neff.

The Federal Court Across The Street: Constitutional Limits On Federal Court Assertions Of Personal Jurisdiction, Pamela J. Stephens

University of Richmond Law Review

Twenty years ago, in a clear break with accepted theory, it was suggested that there were certain constitutional limitations on a federal court's authority to exercise personal jurisdiction. Such a departure from the traditional view might be expected to prompt an extensive examination of that issue by commentators. However, while assertions of personal jurisdiction by state courts have been the subject of intense scrutiny and ongoing constitutional refinements, this has not been the case regarding assertions of personal jurisdiction by federal courts. Generally, federal district courts sitting in diversity cases must look to personal jurisdiction limitations inherent in the state …

Postconviction Remedies, And Federal Jurisdiction: Tensions In The Allocation Of Judicial Power, Robert Popper, William B. De Meza

University of Richmond Law Review

Postconviction Remedies deals with a subject of great importance to the practitioner of criminal law. It is concerned with the procedures available to persons who seek relief from their convictions after trial and after direct review in the appellate courts. Though not usually a part of the law school curriculum and therefore not part of the attorney's formal training, the intricacies of postconviction remedies must be mastered by the lawyer who wishes to render skillful service to the convicted client. The trial and appeal are important battles, but others remain to be fought which can decide crucial issues seriously affecting …

Venue In The Federal Courts Under The "Doing Business" Provision Of 28 U.S.C. § 1391(C): A Provision Subject To Reinterpretation?, Paul Lansing, Robert C. Castle

University of Richmond Law Review

A determination of whether venue is proper for a civil action commenced in federal court requires the application of the rules set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 1391 to the facts of the particular case. Making such a determination has often proved difficult for litigants and courts alike because the basic rules governing venue for civil actions brought in federal courts set forth in section 1391 are not without ambiguity. Section 1391(b), for example, provides in part that "[a] civil action. .. may be brought only in the judicial district. . . in which the claim arose." The language of …