Federal and State Courts – 6120

This three-credit course will cover approximately half of a traditional five- or six-credit "Federal Courts" curriculum; the other half is covered in "Federal Jurisdiction." Students may take either course or both courses, in any order. Topics will include the Eleventh Amendment and state immunity from suit in federal court, federal sovereign immunity, statutory and common law constraints on federal jurisdiction arising from federalism concerns, choice of law and Erie, federal common law, interjurisdictional claim preclusion, the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, and the duty of state courts to adjudicate federal claims. This course is particularly important for anyone interested in pursuing a judicial clerkship or a legal career that includes litigation in federal courts.