Constitutional US Law

Tag: Inferior Federal Courts Jurisdiction

  • Admiralty Cases

    Cases of Admiralty and Maritime JurisdictionThe admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the federal courts had its origins in the jurisdiction vested in the courts of the Admiral of the English Navy. Prior to independence, vice-admiralty courts were created in the Colonies by commissions from the Eng…

  • Civil Cases

    Jurisdiction Confined to Civil CasesIn Cohens v. Virginia, 1 there is a dictum to the effect that the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court does not include suits between a state and its own citizens. Long afterwards, the Supreme Court dismissed…

  • Admiralty

    Admiralty and Maritime CasesAdmiralty and maritime jurisdiction comprises two types of cases: (1) those involving acts committed on the high seas or other navigable waters, and (2) those involving contracts and transactions connected with shipping employed on the seas or navigable waters. In the fir…

  • Parens Patriae

    The State as Parens PatriaeThe distinction between suits brought by states to protect the welfare of their citizens as a whole and suits to protect the private interests of individual citizens is not easily drawn. Thus, in Oklahoma v. Atchison, T. & S.F. Ry.,<a name=t1 href=#f1 target="_self&qu…

  • Admiralty Proceedings

    Admiralty ProceedingsProcedure in admiralty jurisdiction differs in few respects from procedure in actions at law, but the differences that do exist are significant.1 Suits in admiralty traditionally took the form of a proceeding in rem against the v…

  • Controversies between Citizens of Different States

    Controversies Between Citizens of Different StatesThe records of the Federal Convention are silent on why the Framers included controversies between citizens of different states among the judicial power of the United States,1 but Congress has given &…

  • Maritime Jurisdiction

    Territorial Extent of Admiralty and Maritime JurisdictionAlthough he was a vigorous exponent of the expansion of admiralty jurisdiction, Justice Story for the Court in The Steamboat Thomas Jefferson 1 adopted a restrictive English rule confining admi…

  • District of Columbia Problem

    The Meaning of "State" and the District of Columbia ProblemIn Hepburn v. Ellzey,1 Chief Justice Marshall for the Court confined the meaning of the word "state" as used in the Constitution to "the members of the American confe…

  • Real Interest

    The Requirement of a Real InterestAlmost inseparable from the requirements of adverse parties and substantial enough interests to confer standing is the requirement that a real issue be presented, as contrasted with speculative, abstract, hypothetical, or moot issues. It has long been the Court'…

  • Admiralty and Federalism

    Admiralty and FederalismExtension of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction to navigable waters within a state does not, however, of its own force include general or political powers of government. Thus, in the absence of legislation by Congress, the states through their courts may punish offenses upon…

  • Citizenship of Natural Persons

    Citizenship of Natural PersonsFor purposes of diversity jurisdiction, state citizenship is determined by the concept of domicile 1 rather than of mere residence.2 That is, while the Court's defini…

  • Right of the United States to Sue

    Right of the United States to SueIn the first edition of his Treatise, Justice Story noted that while "an express power is no where given in the constitution," the right of the United States to sue in its own courts "is clearly implied in that part respecting the judicial power…. In…

  • Citizenship of Corporations

    Citizenship of CorporationsIn Bank of the United States v. Deveaux,1 Chief Justice Marshall declared: "That invisible, intangible, and artificial being, that mere legal entity, a corporation aggregate, is certainly not a citizen; and consequentl…

  • Suits Against States

    Suits Against StatesControversies to which the United States is a party include suits brought against states as party defendants. The first such suit occurred in United States v. North Carolina,1 which was an action by the United States to recover up…

  • Manufactured Diversity

    Manufactured DiversityA litigant who, because of diversity of citizenship, can choose whether to sue in state or federal court, will properly consider where the advantages and disadvantages balance, and if diversity is lacking, a litigant who perceives the balance to favor the federal forum will som…