Diversity jurisdiction remains contested over whether state courts now treat nonresidents fairly

Evidence

Congress has sought to ease caseload pressures on federal district and appeals courts by increasing the number of courts and judges. For example, the number of federal district court judges has increased from 241 in 1960 to 678 in 2009. Some scholars and jurists, most notably Chief Justice William Rehnquist, have proposed further reducing the caseloads of federal district and appeals courts by eliminating their diversity of citizenship jurisdiction. They insist that state courts today treat residents and nonresidents evenhandedly, so that the original justification for the diversity jurisdiction—avoiding bias against nonresidents in state courts—no longer exists. Certainly, shifting diversity cases to state courts would have an effect on caseloads. In 2006, diversity of citizenship cases accounted for more than 30 percent of all civil cases filed in federal district courts. Opposing this change have been the American Bar Association and various trial lawyers’ organizations, who argue that federal courts do a better job of dispensing justice than do state courts. Thus far, these groups have blocked all efforts to curtail federal jurisdiction over diversity cases. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 267

Categorization

• QUESTION: The claim that state courts today treat residents and nonresidents evenhandedly is empirically testable and would be worth chasing for a paper on forum choice.
• XREF: Connects to the reader’s course material on jurisdiction and forum selection; also to Article III subject-matter jurisdiction basics. — connects to: Racial disparities in judicial outcomes do not necessarily prove unequal treatment; Courts can declare racial disparities a normal feature rather than evidence of racism — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning: The…, 1104

Broader Connections

• Racial disparities in judicial outcomes do not necessarily prove unequal treatment #qualifies (0.75)
• Courts can declare racial disparities a normal feature rather than evidence of racism #qualifies (0.73) — Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped from the Beginning, 1104