Sunday, January 24, 2010

Which of the following cases must be tried in state court?

A. a dispute between two texas residents over ownership of a ranch.


B. prosecution of a cruise line for dumping hazardous waste in Chesepeake Bay


C. an antitrust case to stop the merger of two large banks


D. a lawsuit against the FAA brought by airplane crash victims familiesWhich of the following cases must be tried in state court?
A. is not a federal issue.


B. is an environmental issue...federal


C. is antitrust banking issue (probably FDIC involved)...federal


D. Federal Aviation Authority...obviously federal





A. is a state issue, therefore state court.Which of the following cases must be tried in state court?
A would be county I think. B would most likely be Federal. D is probably Federal as well.





I say C!
Federal court cases are limited to issues of federal question jurisdiction, where a federal statute or the US Constitution is at issue, or where there is diversity of citizenship between the parties (residents of different states).





Any of those could possibly be brought in state court, depending on the specific claims. So, it's process of elmination for which ones could also be federal.





D. FAA is a federal agency, so it could be brought in federal court.





C. Could be brought under federal anti-trust laws





B. Could be brought under federal Clean Water Act.





A. diversity doesn't apply because both are residents of the same state. And no federal statute is directly implicate by the facts as presented. So, as defined, there would be no way to get this into federal court.
All of these can be tried in state court. The state court is the only court of general jurisdiction and can hear any type of case. What confuses some people is that (B) and (C) are definitely cases that could be removed to fed'l court, but state court has jurisdiction to hear any claim, even Constitutional violations. (D) could be moved to fed'l court, also. No case is beyond the jurisdiction of state court, although some states have established administrative courts. My state has administrative courts for workman compensation cases and water law. State Court acts as an appellate court in those types of cases.
A is the only type of case that involves an issue solely within the purview of the state court - real property.





B through D involve issues that could be or must be tried in federal court - pollution and waste in the ocean, antitrust, and lawsuits involving federal agencies.
A is the only one that MUST be tried in state court, but there could be an instance where C is in state court but it not mandatory.

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