Course Description
601:692. FEDERAL COURTS (3)
Exception: Students who have taken Federal Jurisdiction may not enroll in Federal Courts.
The course examines the constitutional structure of the federal judiciary. Specifically, it considers how the exercise of judicial power, assigned exclusively to the judiciary under Article III, is different from executive and legislative power. We will examine whether and to what extent Congress can control the jurisdiction of the courts or influence the outcome of litigation, and whether Congress has the ability to divert some adjudication to non-Article III tribunals. Judicial review, pursuant to Marbury v. Madison, will be studied in depth, as well as the related justiciability doctrines of standing, ripeness, mootness and political question. We will also examine the relationship of the federal judiciary to the states, including the nature of the Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction over state judgments, the federal protection of state-created rights, and several abstention doctrines that constrain federal judicial intrusions into some state controversies. This is an essential course for anyone planning on applying for a federal clerkship and/or litigating in the federal courts.