NCJ Number
147410
Date Published
1994
Length
62 pages
Annotation
The jurisdiction of Federal courts in relation to State courts is evaluated in the context of federalization, a trend toward extending Federal court jurisdiction to civil claims and criminal prosecutions that could be handled in State courts.
Abstract
Federalization has concerned many Federal judges and Federal court commentators. For example, at its September 1991 meeting, the Judicial Conference of the United States reaffirmed its position that Federal prosecutions should be limited to charges that cannot or should not be prosecuted in State courts. In addition, Chief Justice Rehnquist has observed that most Federal judges have serious concerns about the number and type of crimes being funneled into Federal courts. Recently, Federal and State judges have raised questions about provisions in pending crime bills that create new Federal drug and weapon offenses and in versions of the Violence Against Women Bill that extend Federal civil and criminal jurisdiction over matters they see as lying within the traditional province of State courts. Background information is provided on the debate over federalization. Key propositions at the center of the debate are discussed, as well as major issues implicated in the analysis of each proposition. Principal arguments for and against federalization are summarized, and several approaches to a division of jurisdiction between Federal and State courts are examined. An appendix contains data on Federal criminal and civil cases. 124 footnotes and 7 figures