Civ. Pro. I Outline
Lewis Silverman
Fall 2011 Semester
I. Where can a suit be brought? — State v. Federal Court
a. If there is a choice take a few things into consideration:
i. Federal Courts are a lot more limited in the subject matter that they can hear
ii. Federal Judges are appointed for life
iii. Most State judges are subject to some electoral approval
a. Don’t ignore as an attorney the political pressure involved à What is best for your client in each situation?
iv. Federal Courts are faster than state courts
v. In Federal Court you may be able to chose your trial of fact (although that still raises ethical issues)
vi. By going to Federal Court you might be able to avoid local prejudices and bias’, especially since there is a larger jury pool
II. What is Jurisdiction?
a. Jurisdiction= the power to hear and decide a case [a.k.a. the power to Adjudicate]
i. There are 51 sovereign jurisdictions + the Federal System: each power does not extend beyond its borders
1. Every state wants to protect its citizens!
b. Jurisdiction and the Constitution
i. Article III: authorizes the establishment of the system of federal courts and sets the limits (§2) of federal judicial authority:
1. Federal courts cannot exceed those jurisdictional boundaries, and Congress has the power in many instances to restrict the scope of federal judicial authority more narrowly than does the constitution.
ii. Article IV §1: requires that “Full Faith and Credit” be given in each state to judicial proceedings of every other state
1. Supreme Court has interpreted this clause to require that one state recognize and enforce judgments of another state.
a. Important and Unstated Condition— such judgments are entitled to full faith and credit only if the court rendering them has jurisdiction to do so.
iii. Fourteenth Amendment §1: Due Process Clause— “No state [shall] deprive any person of life, liberty, of property, without due process of the law.”
iv. Article VI: Supremacy clause—provides that the constitution and federal laws “shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution of Laws of any State to the contrary is notwithstanding.”
III. Subject-Matter Jurisdiction
a. Some courts are of general jurisdiction
i. General Jurisdiction= these courts can hear any kind of claim between any persons unless there was a legal authority saying that they cannot hear a particular kind of case
1. All states have at least one court of General Jurisdiction
b. Other courts are of limited jurisdiction
i. Limited Jurisdiction= these courts can hear only those cases that are specifically authorized by the statutes that set up that particular court
1. All Federal Courts are of Limited Jurisdiction
a. Article III of the U.S. Constitutions describes the limitations of Federal Courts
c. Complete Diversity= when both parties of the case have citizenships and a domicile of two different states
a. Subject-Matter Jurisdiction of the Federal Courts are based on 2 kinds of Considerations:
1. The nature of the claim arises under the constitution, laws, or treaties of the U.S.
2. Citizenship of parties to the suit
a. Citizenship is,
rty or on records of title so that the prospective buyers know that it cannot be sold.
V. 4 Kinds of Personal Jurisdiction: [thanks to Pennoyer]
a. In Rem= jurisdiction over a piece of property within a state’s borders à owner presumed to have notice + service anywhere is OK
i. A courts right to levy execution against a defendant’s land as well
ii. Action for the right to a property
iii. The property is the subject of the lawsuit
iv. The property is not attached
v. Thus, a judgment rendered by a court proceeding In Rem, unlike a judgment in personam, was said not to bind the defendant personally.
b. Quasi In Rem= [“Attachment Jurisdiction”] Jurisdiction because property is in the state and the property is attached to the person à jurisdiction asserted over a property located within the forum in order to adjudicate a personal dispute usually unrelated to the property itself + service anywhere is ok.
i. Here, the person is the subject of the lawsuit and not the property
ii. A court would issue a writ of attachment directing the sheriff to seize and hold a defendant’s goods in order to secure that the defendant’s presence at a trial in which personal claims against him here to be adjudicated.
