Judicial Expansion of Federal Jurisdiction: A Judge's Thoughts on Section 1983, Comity and the Federal Caseload

Abstract

The burgeoning federal case load has focused public and professional attention upon the need to better allocate judicial resources. Recent Supreme Court decisions have greatly extended the reach of 42 U.S.C. section 1983, arguably at the expense of judicial economy and established notions of federalism. State prisoners' claims brought under section 1983 have particularly aggravated the problems generated by ever-expanding dockets. At a time when sound judicial management should place a premium upon requiring the exhaustion of state remedies and upon the utilization of state courts to resolve matters that would otherwise be cognizable in federal courts, Supreme Court decisions have displayed precisely the opposite tendency. In this article, Judge Aldisert turns a critical eye towards the implications of these recent developments and suggests that fundamental reforms are in order.

PDF scan posted with permission of the Arizona State Law Journal.

Keywords: federal courts, courts, judiciary, judicial process, jurisdiction, federal jurisdiction, comity, section 1983, civil rights, federal caseload, federalism, judicial economy, judicial reform, Aldisert