Bulletin n. 1/2016
June 2016
INDICE
  • Section A) The theory and practise of the federal states and multi-level systems of government
  • Section B) Global governance and international organizations
  • Section C) Regional integration processes
  • Section D) Federalism as a political idea
  • Silverman Bradley G.
    Federal Questions and the Domestic-Relations Exception
    in Yale Law Journal (The) , Volume 125, Issue 5 ,  2016
    The domestic-relations exception to federal jurisdiction prohibits federal courts from hearing cases involving family-law questions within the traditional authority of the states. Since the Supreme Court first articulated the exception in 1858, the scope of the doctrine has remained unclear; in particular, confusion persists over whether it applies only to diversity cases, or to federal questions as well. This Note argues that the domestic-relations exception does not, as a matter of positive law, apply to federal-question cases. Applying the exception to bar federal courts from jurisdiction over bona fide federal questions would violate Article III, which endows federal courts with jurisdiction over all federal-question cases in law or equity. Additionally, the federal-question jurisdiction statute is best read as reflecting a congressional intent that federal jurisdiction extend to domestic-relations matters that raise questions of federal law. Federal courts have the authority to resolve important and timely questions of federal law. The domestic-relations exception should not be misconstrued to stand in their way.
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