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There's No Reason For It; It's Just Our Policy: The Well-Pleaded Complaint Rule Sabotages The Purposes Of Federal Question Jurisdiction, Donald L. Doernberg

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This Article is presented in three parts. Section I traces the statutory and case development of federal question jurisdiction, both under the constitutional and statutory “arising under”' language. Section II demonstrates the problems that the Mottley rule has caused in building a rational system of federal question jurisdiction, particularly in cases seeking declaratory judgments. Section III contends that the Mottley rule is irrational because it is a mechanical rule that ignores important policy considerations underlying the existence of federal question jurisdiction. Section III goes on to suggest that federal question jurisdiction should depend upon the centrality of the federal issue …