Federal and State Courts

This course covers approximately half of a traditional “Federal Courts” curriculum; the other half is covered in “Federal Jurisdiction.”  Students may take either course or both courses, in any order.  Topics include: the Eleventh Amendment and state sovereign immunity; federal, foreign, and tribal sovereign immunity; Section 1983 claims and qualified immunity; statutory and judicially-created constraints on the exercise of federal jurisdiction (including the Anti-Injunction Act and abstention doctrines); and federal common law.  This course is particularly important for anyone interested in pursuing a judicial clerkship or a legal career that includes litigation in federal courts.