Jurisdiction Commons^™

Law Day Oral Argument Session 5th District Court Of Appeal, 2011, Honorable Kerry I. Evander, Presiding Judge, Honorable Jay P. Cohen, Honorable Bruce W. Jacobus

Law Day Presentations

As part of the fifth annual Law Day event, a three judge panel from the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal is hearing appellate oral arguments in the FAMU College of Law Ceremonial Moot Courtroom. The first arguments are regarding evidence and jury instruction issues; the second case involves real property, mortgages and liens, as well as jurisdiction issues; the final arguments are regarding juror non-disclosure. A question-and-answer session follows each set of arguments during which the justices and attorneys entertain questions about the appellate process and organization of the court.

Proper Crime Recording As An Effective Feedback Tool In Articulating A Crime Policy, Kevin A. Unter

Georgia Journal of Public Policy

Crime policy is subject to the policy process just like other governmental policies.  An effective crime policy is one that reduces the amount of crime in a police department’s jurisdiction, e.g., the city.  Accordingly, crime policy consists of the same policy components – agenda setting, formulation, implementation, and feedback.  The implementation of any crime policy depends on the information collected by police departments, often through crimes reported to the department via 9-1-1 calls or brought to a police officer’s attention through proactive police work.  The success of that police work relative to the reported crime first depends on whether the …

The Complexities Of Judicial Takings, D. Benjamin Barros

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Complexity Of Jurisdictional Clarity, Scott Dodson

Faculty Publications

The ideal of clear and simple jurisdictional rules seems like a no-brainer. Clarity in areas of subject-matter jurisdiction generally reduces the cost of litigating those issues and thus preserves litigant and judicial resources for the merits of a dispute. As a result, scholars and justices regularly promote the rhetoric of jurisdictional clarity. Yet no one has probed that rhetoric or reconciled it with the reality of subject-matter jurisdiction doctrine, which is anything but clear and simple. This Article begins to fill that gap, and, in the process, shifts the perspective of existing conversations between rules and standards and between mandates …

Vestiges Of Jurisdiction: On The In Rem Nature Of Pre-Judgment Attachment In New York, Michael A. Mcgarry Jr.

Cardozo Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Structural Safeguards Of Federal Jurisdiction, Tara Leigh Grove

Faculty Publications

Scholars have long debated Congress’s power to curb federal jurisdiction and have consistently assumed that the constitutional limits on Congress’s authority (if any) must be judicially enforceable and found in the text and structure of Article III. In this Article, I challenge that fundamental assumption. I argue that the primary constitutional protection for the federal judiciary lies instead in the bicameralism and presentment requirements of Article I. These Article I lawmaking procedures give competing political factions (even political minorities) considerable power to “veto” legislation. Drawing on recent social science and legal scholarship, I argue that political factions are particularly likely …

After Deference: Formalizing The Judicial Power For Foreign Relations Law, Deborah Pearlstein

Articles

How much deference should courts afford executive branch interpretations of statutes and treaties? The question that has long engaged foreign relations scholars has found new salience as it has become apparent in recent years that the Supreme Court will neither abstain nor reliably defer to presidential judgment even in cases implicating national security. As the courts grapple with the scope of detention authority granted by Congress’ 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force, or the limits on that authority under the Geneva Conventions, a number of scholars have embraced administrative law deference doctrines such as that in Chevron v. …

The Demise Of “Drive-By Jurisdictional Rulings”, Howard M. Wasserman

NULR Online

In an October 2009 Term marked by several significant constitutional rulings, the Supreme Court quietly continued an important multi-term effort towards defining which legal rules properly should be called "jurisdictional." In each of four cases that considered the issue, the Court unanimously rejected a jurisdictional characterization of the challenged legal rule. These cases continue an almost uninterrupted retreat from the Court's admittedly "profligate" and "less than meticulous" use of the term. The Court now rejects "drive-by jurisdictional rulings," in which a legal rule has been labeled as jurisdictional only through "unrefined" analysis, without rigorous consideration of the label's meaning or …

A Realist Defense Of The Alien Tort Statute, Robert Knowles

Law Faculty Publications

This Article offers a new justification for modern litigation under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), a provision from the 1789 Judiciary Act that permits victims of human rights violations anywhere in the world to sue tortfeasors in U.S. courts. The ATS, moribund for nearly 200 years, has recently emerged as an important but controversial tool for the enforcement of human rights norms. “Realist” critics contend that ATS litigation exasperates U.S. allies and rivals, weakens efforts to combat terrorism, and threatens U.S. sovereignty by importing into our jurisprudence undemocratic international law norms. Defenders of the statute, largely because they do not …

Standing On A Spectrum: Third Party Standing In The United States, Canada, And Australia, Gwendolyn Mckee

Barry Law Review

This article examines third party standing cases in the United States, Canada, and Australia. It demonstrates that third party standing can only be understood with reference to the role of modern courts in broad-based, constitutional style rights protection. This type of protection has been the main factor driving courts to create exceptions to the traditional standing requirements. It is only once these exceptions have been established that a court begins to consider allowing third party standing in cases that do not involve rights. The effects of this theory can be seen in the three countries examined in this article.

The Exercise Of Jurisdiction By The International Criminal Court Over Palestine, William Thomas Worster

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Differentiating The Federal Circuit, Elizabeth I. Winston

Scholarly Articles

In 1982, Congress created the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Often referred to as an experiment, the Federal Circuit has flourished. Born again from the ashes of its predecessors, the aptly nicknamed Phoenix Court continues to grow in significance, stature, and strength. As it grows, however, the court remains rooted in its history and in its unique nature. This Article explores the Federal Circuit’s structure and its impact on the development of Federal Circuit jurisprudence. The Federal Circuit is distinguishable by more than its national jurisdiction – the very essence of the court sets it apart …

Jurisdictional Discovery In Transnational Litigation: Extraterritorial Effects Of United States Federal Practice, S. I. Strong

Faculty Publications

This article describes the device in detail, distinguishing it both practically and theoretically from methods used in other common law systems to establish jurisdiction, and discusses how recent US Supreme Court precedent provides international actors with the means of limiting or avoiding this potentially burdensome procedure.

End-Of-Life Decision-Making In Canada: The Report By The Royal Society Of Canada Expert Panel On End-Of-Life Decision-Making, Udo Schuklenk, Johannes J. M. Van Delden, Jocelyn Downie, Sheila Mclean, Ross Upshur, Daniel Marc Weinstock

Reports & Public Policy Documents

This report on end-of-life decision-making in Canada was produced by an international expert panel and commissioned by the Royal Society of Canada. It consists of five chapters: Chapter 1 reviews what is known about end-of-life care and opinions about assisted dying in Canada, Chapter 2 reviews the legal status quo in Canada with regard to various forms of assisted death, Chapter 3 reviews ethical issues pertaining to assisted death. The analysis is grounded in core values central to Canada’s constitutional order, Chapter 4 reviews the experiences had in a number of jurisdictions that have decriminalized or recently reviewed assisted dying …

International Law And The U.S. Common Law Of Foreign Official Immunity, Curtis A. Bradley, Laurence R. Helfer

Faculty Scholarship

In Samantar v. Yousuf, 130 S. Ct. 2278 (2010), the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act does not apply to lawsuits brought against foreign government officials for alleged human rights abuses. The Court did not necessarily clear the way for future human rights litigation against such officials, however, cautioning that such suits “may still be barred by foreign sovereign immunity under the common law.” At the same time, the Court provided only minimal guidance as to the content and scope of common law immunity. Especially striking was the Court’s omission of any mention of the …

Global Problems In Domestic Courts, Ralf Michaels

Faculty Scholarship

We face an increasing number of problems that are essentially global in nature because they affect the world in its entirety: global cartels, climate change, crimes against humanity; to name a few. These problems require world courts, yet world courts in the institutional sense are largely lacking. Hence, domestic courts must function, effectively, as world courts. Given the unlikelihood of effective world courts in the future, our challenge is to establish under what conditions domestic courts can play this role of world courts effectively and legitimately.

Symposium Introduction – Beyond Borders: Extraterritoriality In American Law, Austen L. Parrish

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

A Unified Approach To Extraterritoriality, Anthony J. Colangelo

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This Article develops a unified approach to extraterritoriality. It uses the source of lawmaking authority behind a statute to discern the proper canon for construing that statute’s geographic reach and to evaluate whether application of the statute violates due process.

The approach holds important implications for a variety of high-stakes issues with which courts are presently wrestling, including: the proper role of the presumption against extraterritorial application of U.S. law, whether international law or federal common law should supply the rule of decision in Alien Tort Statute cases, the scope of U.S. jurisdiction over terrorism offenses, and the viability of …

Negotiating The Wind: A Framework To Engage Citizens In Siting Wind Turbines, Sean F. Nolon

Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution

In Section I, this Article explores the promotion of wind energy by looking at the current system of incentives and regulations, including the authority to mitigate adverse impacts. In Section II, the Article looks at the role of citizens in siting generally, how involvement can turn into opposition, and how that opposition can be managed productively. Section III explores three approaches to citizen engagement that have been used for decades-participatory planning, negotiated rulemaking and facility siting. Finally, Section IV provides a framework for the federal government to work cooperatively with state and local governments to create comprehensive wind energy plans …

Exit Costs -- A New Paradign For The Treatment Of International Conflicts Over Matrimonial Property Regimes?, David S. Rosettenstein

Oklahoma Law Review

No abstract provided.

Common Procedural And Jurisdictional Pitfalls To Avoid In Practicing Before The Arkansas Supreme Court, Megan Hargraves

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Morrison, The Effects Test, And The Presumption Against Extraterritoriality: A Reply To Professor Dodge, Austen L. Parrish

Articles by Maurer Faculty

No abstract provided.

Forum, Federalism, And Free Markets: An Empirical Study Of Judicial Behavior Under The Dormant Commerce Clause Doctrine, Mehmet K. Konar-Steenberg, Anne F. Peterson

Faculty Scholarship

This study examines judicial behavior under the dormant Commerce Clause doctrine by drawing on an original database of 459 state and Federal appellate cases decided between 1970 and 2009. The authors use logit regression to show that state judges are more likely to uphold state and local laws against dormant Commerce Clause attack than their Federal judicial counterparts, a result that is consistent with the interstate rivalry issues animating the doctrine. The study also finds that Republican-dominated judicial panels at the state level are more likely to side with tax challengers invoking the dormant Commerce Clause doctrine than are Democratic …

Prosecuting Federal Crimes In State Courts, Michael G. Collins, Jonathan R. Nash

Faculty Articles

Despite the ancient maxim that the courts of one sovereign will not “execute the penal laws of another,” they sometimes do. For example, federal courts can hear state-law criminal prosecutions of federal officers for acts taken in the course of their duties that are brought initially in state court and are then removed to federal court. In addition, some states now open their courthouse doors to officials from other states to pursue tax enforcement actions against delinquent taxpayers. But states still do not (and perhaps cannot) entertain prosecutions of fugitives solely for crimes committed in another state because the Constitution …

Shady Grove And The Potential Democracy-Enhancing Benefits Of Erie Formalism, Jeffrey W. Stempel

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Consulting The Architect When Problems Arise – The Divine Law, Brian Mccall

Faculty Articles

In The Architecture of Law: Building Law on a Solid Foundation- The Eternal and Natural Law, I began laying the foundation for a particular form of legal architecture. Taking inspiration from St. Thomas Aquinas’ description of God as the artificer or architect, I argued that the Law is a multi storied edifice comprised of different types of law. I explored the nature of the foundational law, the Eternal Law and its relationship to justice. I considered how the frame of Natural Law is erected upon or participates in the foundation of Eternal Law. Finally, I discussed some of the most …

"Perrymandering": A New Redistricting Plan In Texas Impacts The Latino Vote, Norma E. Loza

Public Interest Law Reporter

No abstract provided.

The International Law Of State Immunity And Its Development By National Institutions, Christian Tomuschat

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The proceedings between Germany and Italy currently pending before the International Court of Justice have revived interest in the legal regime of jurisdictional immunity of states. Germany charges Italy with violating the basic rule of state immunity by entertaining reparation claims brought before its civil courts by victims of serious breaches of international humanitarian law committed by Nazi Germany during World War II. Jurisdictional immunity is not absolute, but it remains preserved for truly governmental acts like military operations. None of the generally recognized exceptions apply in the German-Italian dispute. Damages resulting from international armed conflict are not covered by …

In Defense Of The Substance-Procedure Dichotomy, Jennifer S. Hendricks

Publications

John Hart Ely famously observed, "We were all brought up on sophisticated talk about the fluidity of the line between substance and procedure," but for most of Erie's history, the Supreme Court has answered the question "Does this state law govern in federal court? " with a "yes" or a "no." Beginning, however, with Gasperini v. Center for Humanities, and continuing with Semtek v. Lockheed Martin and the dissenting opinion in Shady Grove v. Allstate, a shifting coalition of justices has pursued a third path. Instead of declaring state law applicable or inapplicable, they have claimed for …

Jurisdiction By Cross-Reference, Lumen N. Mulligan

Faculty Works

State and federal law often cross-reference each other to provide a rule of decision. The difficulties attendant to these cross-referenced schemes are brought to the fore most clearly when a federal court must determine whether such bodies of law create federal question jurisdiction. Indeed, the federal courts have issued scores of seemingly inconsistent opinions on these cross-referential cases. In this article, I offer an ordering principle for these apparently varied, cross-referential, jurisdictional cases. I argue that the federal courts only take federal question jurisdiction over cross-referenced claims when they, from a departmental perspective, maintain declaratory authority over the cross-referenced law. …