Fall 2023

5308 Federal Courts - KUMAR- 26655

Professor(s): Sapna Kumar (FACULTY)

Credits: 3

Course Areas: Procedure and Practice

Time: 2:30p-4:00p MW Location: 200

Course Outline: This course covers the jurisdiction of the federal courts and a number of other issues concerning the relationship of the federal and state courts. Specific topics to be covered include: congressional control over the jurisdiction of the federal courts; justiciability doctrines such as standing; enforcement of federal rights against state officials; federal question and diversity jurisdiction, including supplemental jurisdiction; federal common law; the 11th Amendment and sovereign immunity; abstention doctrines; and federal appellate jurisdiction, including United States Supreme Court review of state court judgments.

Course Syllabus: Syllabus updated 7/24/23

Course Notes: (Synchronous Online) The UH registration system instruction mode for this course is listed in parenthesis. After student registration opens, there may be instruction mode changes to this course up through two weeks before the first day of classes for the term, but notice of such changes will be sent to then-registered students. Contrary to the UH information, some student materials may not be available online, such as an assigned casebook. A physical classroom may be assigned for this course to give students a location in the Law Center to join the virtual class sessions. If the course has a final examination, the final and any other assessment for the course, such as a mid-term exam, will be conducted without the need to physically come to the Law Center, such as, for example, via the EBB portal as a take home exam or under remote proctoring.

Quota=50.

Prerequisites:

First Day Assignments:

Final Exam Schedule: 12/05 Take home 200

This course will have:
Exam:
Paper:

Satisfies Senior Upper Level Writing Requirement: No

Experiential Course Type: No

Bar Course: No

DistanceEd ABA: Yes

Pass-Fail Student Election: Available

Course Materials

Book(s) Required

Course Materials: ISBN: 9781685610852

The assigned casebook is the 10th edition of Low, Jeffries, Bradley, Federal Courts and the Law of the Federal-State Relations. A 15% discount from West is available with the code WAHOUSTON. A copy of this casebook should be on reserve in the library.