Federal Courts

Catalog description

This course builds on the knowledge gained in constitutional law and civil procedure. One of the most important features of our constitutional system is the general division of governmental authority between state and national governments, and nowhere is that division of authority more important to practicing lawyers than in the allocation of judicial power between the state and federal courts. The former are, of course, courts of general jurisdiction, while the latter are courts of limited jurisdiction. The overall design of the course seeks to assist students in thinking about this allocation of power, not as a merely theoretical matter, but as one of real practical consequence in connection with a client's substantive goals and how best to serve them. Litigants typically want access to the federal courts for very specific (and often very important) reasons: to obtain remedies for violations of federal constitutional and statutory law, or, in some cases, to secure a forum that they believe will be more hospitable to their claims. Seen in this way, the law of the federal courts consists of doctrines that either facilitate or frustrate litigants in achieving their substantive goals in the federal (and state) courts. The aim of the course is to provide students with a basic framework for thinking effectively about these problems. This course may be offered only every other year.