Diane P. Wood : Courses and Seminars
Federal Courts from the Judge's Perspective
LAWS 51402
This seminar will take a close look at selected problems relating to the role of the federal courts in the United States. The problems will be chosen with an eye to both the frequency with which the federal courts currently encounter them and to the difficulty of the issues even if they make only rare, but predictable, appearances. The topics will change from year to year, but they will normally include the following: defining the scope and limits of the judicial power; Article III limitations such as standing, mootness, ripeness, and political questions; congressional control of the federal courts; non-Article III tribunals; subject matter jurisdiction - actual, potential, and optimal; actions against governmental units and officials, as well as related immunity doctrines; habeas corpus; standards of review; institutional reform litigation; and judicial federalism, including anti-injunction legislation, abstention doctrines, and Erie.
Students who have completed the Federal Jurisdiction course (LAWS 41101) may not register for this seminar.
Winter 2012
Diane P. Wood
