About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

45 Me. L. Rev. 185 (1993)
Discretionary Gatekeeping: The Supreme Court's Management of Its Original Jurisdiction Docket Since 1961

handle is hein.journals/maine45 and id is 191 raw text is: DISCRETIONARY GATEKEEPING: THE SUPREME COURT'S MANAGEMENT OF ITS ORIGINAL JURISDICTION DOCKET SINCE 1961 Vincent L. McKusick*1 INTRODUCTION There is a special drama when a state sues another state invoking the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the United States. In the international arena, similar disputes between sovereign states would be settled through diplomatic negotiations or armed conflict, and the stakes in the Supreme Court trial are often as high as in international disputes.2 In 1963, after protracted litigation brought under the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction by the State of Ari- zona against the State of California, the Court issued its decision * Chief Justice, Maine Supreme Judicial Court, 1977-1992. Of counsel, Pierce, Atwood, Scribner, Allen, Smith & Lancaster, Portland, Maine, 1992-. Special Master, Connecticut, et al. v. New Hampshire (No. 119 Orig.), 1992-93. This Article is an elaboration of a paper delivered by the author at the 1992 Au- tumn Meeting in Philadelphia of the American Philosophical Society. The author re- ceived valuable assistance in preparing this paper from Susanni Douville, Esq. and David Littell, Esq., both of Pierce, Atwood, Scribner, Allen, Smith & Lancaster, Port- land, Maine. 1. This Article studies the Supreme Court's management of its original jurisdic- tion docket during the period from October 1, 1961 through April 25, 1993. The start- ing date coincides with the Court's change of its original jurisdiction docket to contin- uous consecutive numbering, from its prior system of giving new docket numbers each term to the cases carried over from the preceding term. Until April 26, 1993, the most recently filed original jurisdiction case under the consecutive numbering system was Connecticut v. New Hampshire (No. 119 Orig.), which was initiated on October 30, 1991. The Supreme Court dismissed that latest case on April 16, 1993, pursuant to a settlement agreement announced by the parties shortly before the Court was sched- uled to hear oral argument on exceptions to the final report filed by the present au- thor as special master. 113 S. Ct. 1837 (1993); New Hampshire Alters Tax Plan for Seabrook, Averting Court Fight, WALL ST. J., Apr. 14, 1993, at Bl. On April 26, 1993, the State of New Jersey filed a motion for leave to fie a complaint against the State of New York to determine the state boundary on Ellis Island in New York Harbor, thus initiating New Jersey v. New York (No. 120 Orig.). This Article does not reflect any Supreme Court action subsequent to April 25, 1993, in that or any other original jurisdiction case. The Article complements the excellent student work, Note, The Original Jurisdic- tion of the United States Supreme Court, 11 STAn. L Ray. 665 (1959), which sur- veyed all original jurisdiction cases that produced at least one published opinion in the first 170 years of Supreme Court history. 2. See James E. Beaver, Common Law vs. International Law Adjective Rules in the Original Jurisdiction, 20 HASTINGS L.J. 1 (1968); William W. Van Astyne, The Justiciability of International River Disputes: A Study in the Case Method, 1964 DuKE LJ. 307; William W. Van Alstyne, International Law and Interstate River Dis- putes, 48 CAL L Rzv. 596 (1960).

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most