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10 U. Bridgeport L. Rev. 361 (1989-1990)
The Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987 Navigating Turbulant Constitutional Waters

handle is hein.journals/qlr10 and id is 371 raw text is: NOTES THE ABANDONED SHIPWRECK ACT OF 1987. NAVIGATING TURBULANT CONSTITUTIONAL WATERS? I. INTRODUCTION On April 28, 1988, Congress passed the Abandoned Shipwreck Act of 1987, which was designed to clarify states' rights in regu- lating the preservation of historic shipwrecks within their terri- torial waters.1 Although the salvage of wrecks had traditionally been governed by federal admiralty law,2 several states had passed individual legislation dealing with the preservation of wrecks, including regulation of underwater salvage activities.' By bringing these activities under state control, state law was in a position to challenge traditional admiralty principles. Conflicts developed in the federal courts when salvors attempted to inval- idate state laws by showing that federal admiralty law should control in salvage cases. This Note will outline the language of the Act, the background for its creation, the admiralty traditions governing salvage, and some constitutional problems with the existing state legislation and the Act itself. In addition, this Note will propose legislation that could be drafted by either 1. 43 U.S.C.A. §§1201-1206 (West. Supp. 1988). The Abandoned Shipwreck Act was enacted as PUB. L. No. 100-298, 102 Stat. 432-35. 2. U.S. CONST. art. III, § 2. Admiralty law was designated as federal by the Framers of the Constitution, and codified by Congress in Title 28 of the UNITED STATES CODE, 28 U.S.C. § 1333 (1982). Title 28 states that in admiralty, maritime and prize cases, the District Courts shall have original jurisdiction, exclusive of the states in any civil cases of admiralty. Id. 3. See infra notes 121-27 and accompanying text for a discussion of state legisla- tion regarding abandoned shipwrecks. 4. See infra notes 212-32 and accompanying text for a discussion of court decisions regarding the jurisdiction of admiralty claims.

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