Semester: Spring 2023 (tentative) Fall 2022 Summer 2022 Spring 2022 Fall 2021 Summer 2021 Spring 2021 Fall 2020 Spring 2020 Fall 2019 Summer 2019 Spring 2019
Professional/Experiential Skills Courses First Year Courses Only

Federal Courts (LAW-643-001)
Vladeck

Notices

Description

From the late Anna Nicole Smith's quest for her husband’s fortune to the legal issues arising out of the war on terrorism; from unprecedented congressional alteration of (and interference with) federal jurisdiction with regard to class actions, bankruptcy, large-scale accidents, and immigration law to the courts’ own mounting internal struggles with an ever-expanding caseload; and from the Terri Schiavo case to the availability of domestic courts to litigate international human rights abuses, the study of federal courts has an importance and significance today unmatched in generations. To that end, our topics will include, among others, the constitutional scope of Congress’s power to limit the jurisdiction of the federal courts; the legal authority for, and substantive limits on, non-Article III courts; military tribunals and the war on terrorism; the jurisdictional interplay between state and federal courts; the complicated and somewhat convoluted field of "federal common law"; the availability of (and scope of sovereign and official immunity from) suits challenging state and federal official action; judge-made doctrines based on federalism and principles of comity that otherwise limit the exercise of federal jurisdiction; and the procedural minefield that is federal habeas corpus for state prisoners. Whereas our study of each issue is, in many ways, primarily concerned with the history and structure of the federal judicial system, these topics today necessarily include within their sweep deep and complex questions about the proper horizontal separation of powers between the political branches and the judiciary, the proper vertical separation of powers between federal and state courts, and both the structural and individualized constitutional issues inherent in attempts by any of the relevant actors to alter the historical balance.

Textbooks and Other Materials

The textbook information on this page was provided by the instructor. Students should use this information when considering purchases from the AU Campus Store or other vendors. Students may check to determine if books are currently available for purchase online.

First Class Readings

You need not purchase any of the course materials for the first class. Rather, the first class reading is entirely contained within a handout that will be available outside Prof. Vladeck’s office (Room 386), and posted to the course Blackboard, as of Monday, August 13.

Syllabus

Use your MyAU username and password to access the syllabus in the following format(s):

• Microsoft Word (DOC)
• Corel Wordperfect (WPD)
• Adobe Acrobat (PDF)