The Federal Courthouse Door

The Federal Courthouse Door provides quick-access answers to most questions on federal subject-matter jurisdiction. It provides a bullet-point list of jurisdictional issues and states the authority by statute, case law, or both.

Author James Paul George has organized federal jurisdiction into six sections designed for quick answers and easy comprehension.

• Sources of federal jurisdiction under the Constitution, federal statutes, and federal common law;
• Federal district court jurisdiction, discussing every aspect of entry or exit at the trial level;
• Circuit courts of appeal jurisdiction, original and appellate;
• Supreme Court jurisdiction, original and appellate;
• Immunity from jurisdiction, including the United States, member states under the Eleventh Amendment, and foreign countries under the Constitution and the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act;
• Refraining from jurisdiction under the abstention doctrines and statutes.

The book also has special sections on writ practice, administrative law appeals, and venue. All sections have frequent cross-references to leading treatises on federal practice.

"So many litigants and their lawyers have discovered, sometimes too late, what this book amply shows. The 'door to the federal courthouse' is jealously guarded. If you seek to enter without knowing and fulfilling the constitutional and statutory requirements, the door will slam in your face. You will then go down the street to state court, where you should have gone to begin with. The door swings both ways, however. Once in federal court, you and your lawsuit can be ejected back onto the pavement from whence you came. Whatever you might have gained in that federal forum will be worthless to you… In this book, Professor George has given you a thorough, well-researched guide to how the courthouse door works…"
—Michael Tigar, Professor of Law and Edwin A. Mooers Scholar at the Washington College of Law, American University, from the Foreword

"This title should quickly become an important tool for legal researchers in the realm of federal jurisdiction… [The book] provides information on federal jurisdiction in a concise, well-organized, and easy-to-use fashion. It is a solid reference resource… a valuable asset to any law library that maintains federal jurisdiction materials."
—Legal Information ALERT, April 2002