NCJ Number
76147
Date Published
1980
Length
317 pages
Annotation
This document contains testimony given before the Senate Judiciary Committee on S. 697, a bill to modify Federal diversity jurisdiction and eliminate the amount in controversy requirement in Federal question cases.
Abstract
This legislation is part of a larger comprehensive effort to redistribute the Federal caseload while improving the efficiency of the Federal court system. The reasoning underlying the bill is that Federal law should not attach a price tag to admission to the Federal courts when a Federal claim is raised. A comprehensive and uniform Federal question jurisdiction should be established while the archaic diversity rules are modified. However, turning over the estimated 30,000 diversity cases per year to 6,000 State judges (as opposed to 400 Federal judges) would cause additional problems because these judges are not uniformly distributed among the States. Moreover, additional concerns relate to eliminating diversity jurisdiction in the face of local prejudice against certain litigants. Testimony was presented by judges, law professors, attorneys, an assistant U.S. Attorney General, and representatives of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. A questions-and-answer session between Senator Thurmond and the assistant Attorney General is also included, and S 697 and related correspondence are appended.