Thurs. Sept. 13

constitutional restrictions on service

U.S. Const. Amendment V. No person shall... be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law... Amendment XIV. Section No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Mennonite Board of Missions v. Adams (U.S. 1983)

Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co. (U.S. 1950)

“An elementary and fundamental requirement of due process in any proceeding which is to be accorded finality is notice reasonably calculated, under all the circumstances, to apprise interested parties of the pendency of the action and afford them an opportunity to present their objections.”

federal subject matter jurisdiction

federal question (or “arising under”) jurisdiction

U.S. Const. Article III. Section. 2. The judicial Power shall extend to all Cases, in Law and Equity, arising under this Constitution, the Laws of the United States, and Treaties made, or which shall be made, under their Authority…

28 U.S.C. § Federal question The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of all civil actions arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States.

Louisville & Nashville RR Co. v. Mottley (US 1908)

P sues D for infringement of his patent Federal Question?

P and D sign a contract allowing D to make use of P’s patent for a fee D breaks contract by not paying P the fee P sues D for breach of contract Federal Question?

I am a beneficiary of a trust and sue the trustee because he has invested in illegal securities in violation of the trust the securities are illegal because they are in violation of fed law federal question?

What if the Mottley’s had brought a declaratory judgment action to determine whether the federal statute overrode their contract and if it did whether it was a taking in violation of the Fifth Amendment

- P sues D in federal court under federal Securities Exchange Act, claiming that a certain financial instrument is a “security” - the federal court concludes that the instrument is not a “security” within the meaning of the Act - it therefore dismisses the action - failure to state a claim of lack of SMJ?

You hit me in the face and I bring an action against you in federal court (using federal question jurisdiction as my source of subject matter jurisdiction) for a violation of federal securities laws. Failure to state a claim or failure of subject matter jurisdiction? Does it make a difference?

federal subject matter jurisdiction diversity and alienage jurisdiction

U.S. Const. Article III. Section. 2. Clause 1:The judicial Power shall extend …to Controversies …between a State and Citizens of another State;--between Citizens of different States…and between a State, or the Citizens thereof, and foreign States, Citizens or Subjects.

P (NY) sues D1 (NY) and D2 (CA) under NY state law for damages in connection with a brawl in NY Could Congress create a statute allowing for federal jurisdiction for this action?

Sec Diversity of citizenship; amount in controversy; costs (a) The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of all civil actions where the matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs, and is between -

(1) citizens of different States; (2) citizens of a State and citizens or subjects of a foreign state, except that the district courts shall not have original jurisdiction under this subsection of an action between citizens of a State and citizens or subjects of a foreign state who are lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States and are domiciled in the same State; (3) citizens of different States and in which citizens or subjects of a foreign state are additional parties; and (4) a foreign state... as plaintiff and citizens of a State or of different States.

Federal Court Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act of 2011