Federal Courts
Prof. S. Rush
Spring 2016
Syllabus and Assignment Sheet
1. Materials. LOW, JEFFRIES AND BRADLEY, FEDERAL COURTS AND THE LAW OF FEDERALSTATE RELATIONS (8th ed.). You do not need the 2015 Supplement. In putting the syllabus and
classes together, I relied on the text and on Erwin Chemerinsky’s treatise on Federal Jurisdiction
(5th ed.). You will notice as you read it that I like Prof. Chemerinsky’s organization and follow
it pretty closely.
2. Course Objectives. This course provides students with an overview of five major areas in
federal court practice: congressional control of jurisdiction, legislative courts, justiciability,
sovereign immunity, and § 1983. It also is designed to help students develop their critical
analytical skills.
3. Coverage. The assignment sheet is attached. I will give the assignment on Wednesday for
the following week. Generally, we will cover about 20-25 pages per class. However, sometimes
the assignments are longer up front but they cover several classes.
4. Class Participation. The most interesting classes are those in which lots of different people
participate. Some students are reluctant to talk in class and others are happy to talk every chance
they get. Let’s try to strike a balance in our class. Class is supposed to be an exciting place and I
promise the materials will invite questions of all kinds and that we will have a good time
exploring the possible answers. In this way, everyone can contribute valuable insights and
further our thinking. So join in and make this class one that you look forward to because you
play a significant role in it!
5. Final Exam. The exam is a take home, open-book, eight hour exam that will be administered
electronically. It will be available the first day of exams. Remember that you have only eight
hours to complete it once you start. This means that if you wait till the end of the exam period,
you should plan to start it so that you have eight hours because it must be turned in no later than
the end of the official exam period (unless you have an administrative excuse to take it after that
time). I will post on TWEN a copy of my last exam. I’ll also give more details about this closer
to exam time.
THE HONOR CODE. The exam is open-book and you are allowed to use your
textbook and notes, but you must do it alone. This means you cannot receive any help on
your exam. Anyone who violates this rule will be referred to the Honor Committee.
Remember that the school also has a grading curve that I must follow. Grading is strictly
anonymous.
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Federal Courts
Prof. S. Rush
6. Grades. Grading is done in compliance with law school policy available at
http://www.law.ufl.edu/students/policies.shtml#9. My initial grades on the final are always done
anonymously and I never lower anyone’s grade after I turn them in.
The exam counts for 100% of your grade unless you are eligible to have your grade
raised (1/3 third of a grade, that is, by a “plus”) because of class participation. Specifically,
within the limits of the mandatory curve, I am willing to raise by 1/3 (a “plus”) the grades of
those students whose final exam grade does not reflect the excellent performance I see in class.
Before I raise your grade on this basis, however, I must be confident that you deserve it. I will
be evaluating how often you participate, whether your comments demonstrate knowledge of the
reading, and whether you are mindful of classmates who also want to participate and you share
the floor with them. Please realize that having your grade adjusted for class participation will be
unusual but it can happen.
7. Attendance. I am required to verify your attendance in class. Accordingly, I will pass
around an attendance sheet for you to initial. Also, please try to be on time; it can be distracting
to have people coming in after class starts. If you are late, please enter through the back door
and sit in the back.
8. Laptops. You are welcome to use your laptop for class related activities. If you are going to
use your laptop for purposes unrelated to class, please respect your classmates and sit in a seat
where they will not be distracted. I reserve the right to limit the use of laptops to preserve an
environment of respect in the classroom
9. Office Hours. My office is 319-B and my office number is 273-0948 and my e-mail address
is Rush@law.ufl.edu. I am available to talk with you any time I’m in my office and will be sure
to be available to meet with you Mondays and Tuesdays from 1:30-3:00. If these times are not
good for you, we can meet at your convenience. If on any particular day they are not good for
me, I’ll leave a note on the door.
10. Accommodations. The University of Florida’s policy on accommodating students with
disabilities to ensure they are provided equal educational access is as follows:
“Students with disabilities requesting accommodations should first register with the Disability
Resource Center (325-392-8565, www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/) by providing appropriate
documentation. Once registered, students will receive an accommodation letter which must be
presented to the instructor when requesting accommodations. Students with Disabilities should
follow this procedure as early as possible in the semester.”
Please let me or Dean Inman in Student Affairs know if you have any questions.
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Federal Courts
Spring 2016
Prof. S. Rush
Assignment Sheet
All assignments are to the required text, Low, Jeffries & Bradley (8th ed.). Please note that this
outline does not give one assignment for each day of class. On some days we will cover more
than one assignment, but more often, one assignment will take us a few days to complete. We’ll
know at the end of the week how much we will cover the following week.
I. Introduction: The Role of Federal Courts, pp. 241-254 [Marbury v. Madison]
II. Congressional Power to Limit Federal Court Jurisdiction [Please note that it is best to
read this Section all at once if you have time.]
A. The Lower Federal Courts, pp. 435-440; 445-450 [Sheldon, Webster]
B. The Supreme Court, pp. 440-445; 450-461 [Ex part McCardle, Hamdan,
Boumediene, Felker, Cyr]
III. Congressional Power to Create Non-Article III Courts
A. The Framework, pp. 513-528 [Marathon]
B. Post-Marathon Developments, pp. 528-546 [Thomas, Schor, Sterns (skim)]
IV. Justiciability: Limitations on Federal Court Review
A. Standing Requirements: Injury, Causation, and Redressability, pp. 257-270 [Allen];
pp. 272-281 [Clapper; Warth, Duke Power]
B. The Ban on Generalized Grievances and Taxpayer Standing Suits, pp. 271-272
[Schlesinger]; pp. 297-319 [Hein]
C. “Citizen Suit” Provisions, pp. 281-97 [Lujan, Laidlaw, Akins]
D. Standing to Appeal, pp. 319-346 [Hollingsworth, Windsor]
E. The Political Questions Doctrine, pp. 410-421 [Luther, Baker, Powell, Nixon, Bush];
424-432 [Zivotofsky, Goldwater]
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Federal Courts
Prof. S. Rush
V. Federal Court Relief Against Federal, State, and Local Governments and Officials
A. Suing State Governments: The Eleventh Amendment
1. Nature of the limit, pp. 1027-1032; 1037-1041 [Chisholm, Hans]
2. Exceptions: Ways Around the 11th Amendment
a. State officers, pp. 1032-1037 [Ex parte Young]; pp. 1043-1053
[Edelman]; 1060-1062 [Pennhurst]
b. Consent pp. 1062 (note 1)
c. Congressional Abrogation
i. Generally, pp. 1063-1064 [Fitzpatrick]
ii. Seminole Tribe, pp. 1066-1084
iii. Alden v. Maine, pp. 1084-1091
iv. College Savings Bank, pp. 1091-1093
v. Fed. Maritime Comm. and Katz, pp. 1093-1096
vi. Flores, pp. 1097-1099
vii. College Savings and Florida Prepaid Postsecondary
Education Expense Board, pp. 1099-1101
viii. Kimel, Garrett Coleman, pp. 1101-112; 1116-1118
ix. Lane, pp. 1119-1120; 1118-1119
x. Hibbs, pp. 1112-1116
B. Section 1983 Actions: Suing Local Governments and State and Local Officials
1. Meaning of “Under Color of State Law,” pp. 1139-1148 [Monroe]
2. Purposes of Section 1983, pp. 1148-1152; 1190-1195
3. Who is a “person?”
a. Municipalities
i. Monell, pp. 1200-1215
ii. Policies, pp. 1238-1260 [ Pembauer, Praprotnik, McMillian,
Tuttle, Harris]
iii. Immunities, pp. 1215-1238 [Owen][skim]
b. Individuals, pp. 1158-1190 [Scheur, Wood, Harlow, Anderson,
Crawford, Brosseau, Hope, Pearson, Reichle, Camreta]
c. State governments, pp. 1211-1212 [Will]
4. For What wrongs?
a. Federal laws, pp. 1302-1313 [Maine v. Thiboutot]; 1318-1321
[Gonzaga, Palos Verdes]
b. Constitution, pp. 1281-1286 [Parratt and its progeny];
1286-1302 [Zinermon]
C. Suing the Federal Government and Federal Officials, pp. 167-176; 187-195 (notes 1
and 2 [Bivens, Wilkie, Minneci] (If we have time)
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