Students contemplating taking Federal Jurisdiction need to understand that it does not overlap at all with Civil Procedure II (even though it satisfies the Jurisdiction of Courts requirement). CivPro2 covers personal and subject matter jurisdiction, venue, transfer, forum non conveniens, joinder, class actions, the preclusive effect of judgments, and the Erie doctrine--all important topics that every lawyer is expected to understand. Federal Jurisdiction--using Martin Redish & Suzanna Sherry's book "Federal Courts" covers issues in judicial review (Marbury, Standing, Mootness, Ripeness, and the Political Question Doctrine), the power of Congress to control the jurisdiction of the federal courts, recurring themes in judicial federalism, remedies against state and local action using 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (the meaning of "under color of law," the scope of liability, and official immunities), sovereign immunity, abstention doctrines, the anti-injunction act, special issues in res judicata (civil rights actions after state judgments, the Rooker-Feldman doctrine), habeas corpus, and Supreme Court review (including the independent and adequate state ground doctrine).

Federal Jurisdiction should be seen as a more advanced course than CivPro2. CivPro2 is a first year elective, while Fedjur is especially recommended for third year students. Fedjur bears more resemblance to Constitutional Law: we read cases that mix questions about the power of courts--especially the conflicting power of federal and state courts--with questions about the rights of individuals. Students who want to think deeply about the way jurisdictional law affects the meaning of rights--the relation between substance and procedure--are encouraged to take this course.