Designed for students in advanced courses and newly revised, this book explains the leading principles of federal jurisdiction. It includes such landmarks as Marbury v. Madison and Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents and the rules that govern original and appellate jurisdiction, justiciability and abstention, federal habeas corpus, and sovereign immunity. It discusses the enemy combatant cases, culminating in Boumediene, and recent Supreme Court decisions on such diverse issues as the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, federal ingredient jurisdiction, complete preemption removal, and supplemental jurisdiction. Perhaps most important, the book provides students with a sense of the argumentative possibilities available to lawyers and jurists working within the federal courts' tradition.

Offers practical guidance and comprehensive coverage on all aspects of federal court jurisdiction and litigation procedure, as well as the relationship between the state and federal courts. Text reviews the federal judicial system; judicial power of the United States; diversity of citizenship; venue; pleadings, trials, and judgments; and appellate court jurisdiction.

Courts are key players in the dynamics of federal countries since their rulings have a direct impact on the ability of governments to centralize and decentralize power. Courts in Federal Countries examines the role high courts play in thirteen countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Nigeria, Spain, and the United States. The volume’s contributors analyse the centralizing or decentralizing forces at play following a court’s ruling on issues such as individual rights, economic affairs, social issues, and other matters. The thirteen substantive chapters have been written to facilitate comparability between the countries. Each chapter outlines a country’s federal system, explains the constitutional and institutional status of the court system, and discusses the high court’s jurisprudence in light of these features. Courts in Federal Countries offers insightful explanations of judicial behaviour in the world’s leading federations.