Law Commons^™

A Revisionist Theory Of Abstention, Barry Friedman

Michigan Law Review

This article offers a straightforward model for identifying cases in which abstention threatens federal rights - and so is inappropriate and cases in which federal rights are not so threatened and state interests require abstention. Part I provides some background on the abstention doctrines, clarifying· the competing premises that must be reconciled in order to develop a coherent, unified abstention doctrine. Part II then sets out the basis for the revisionist theory and the manner in which it would operate, arguing that a federal trial forum only need be - and only should be - available where necessary to protect …