ON THE Jurisdiction and Procedure BY GEORGE W. RIGHTMIRE Cincinnati THE W. H. ANDERSON COMPANY 1917 TO PROFESSOR GEORGE WELLS KNIGHT TO WHOSE HELPFULNESS AND INSPIRATION THIS VOLUME IS A SLIGHT BUT EARNEST TRIBUTE. iii PREFACE Although the jurisdiction of the federal courts is largely a matter of statute, and is in the main based on an elaborate code, yet approaching the subject through the cases seems as highly desirable and yields the same good results as are noticed in other branches of the law. The traditional method of dealing with the subject has been by lectures and text book, but the scope of the subject and the wealth of cases has shown the possibility of pursuing the case treatment. The arrangement is such as to present the historical viewpoint; for, though the statutes have undergone frequent change, the main outlines have been retained about as laid down in 1789, and important changes, like the Act of 1891, have apparently long since become permanent features of the system. As to procedure, many of the cases on jurisdiction raise and discuss procedural matters, and it is the thought that the student will make careful note of them, and that class discussion will be accorded to them. The abbreviated transcripts of records will furnish the basis for an intensive study; they may be supplemented by records of cases in the various federal courts which may be obtained in limited numbers from the clerks on request. It has been thought wise to omit from a book of this character the large special subjects: bankruptcy, admiralty and maritime jurisdiction and patents. They receive adequate treatment in separate courses of the curriculum. The Federal Judicial Code of 1911, with amendments, annotated, may be obtained from the superintendent of documents of the United States, and is expected to be in the hands of the student. The appendix therefore contains only those enactments of chief importance which are not readily available to the student in convenient form. |