Federal Courts

3 units

This course surveys the role of the federal courts in our constitutional system. Topics may include justiciability, such as the doctrines of standing, ripeness, and mootness; the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts, as well as Congress’s authority to alter that jurisdiction; the federal courts’ common-lawmaking authority; the permissibility of adjudication by non-Article III tribunals; abstention doctrines and other rules allocating jurisdiction between state and federal courts; Section 1983 and qualified immunity; the scope of federal injunctive relief; implied rights of action; state sovereign immunity; and habeas corpus. The course presupposes familiarity with foundational concepts from Constitutional Law and Civil Procedure, such as federal judicial review and the Erie doctrine. The grade will be based on an in-class examination, and may also take class participation, attendance, and professionalism into account. Electronic devices will not be permitted.