exclusive jurisdiction
Definitions from Case Law · United States Supreme Court
Definitions from Case Law
From 366 U.S. 656 - Pan American Petroleum Corporation v. Superior Court of Delaware in and for New Castle County Texaco Inc · 1961Most cited · 572 citing opinions
Exclusive jurisdiction' is given the federal courts but it is 'exclusive' only for suits that may be brought in the federal courts. Exclusiveness is a consequence of having jurisdiction, not the generator of jurisdiction because of which state courts are excluded.
How the Supreme Court has restated “exclusive jurisdiction”
Each Supreme Court definition of “exclusive jurisdiction,” sized by how often later courts cited it. “Change” is measured by wording overlap with earlier definitions — a rough signal, not a semantic judgment.
How often courts cite the cases defining “exclusive jurisdiction”
Court decisions citing the 3 opinions that defined “exclusive jurisdiction” — 867 in all, by decade. Counts are citations to the defining cases as a whole, not verified uses of the term. The dip in the most recent years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the latest years.
All 3 definitions, chronological · 1938–1964
- ORIGINAL
a transfer of exclusive jurisdiction rests upon a grant by the state, it follows, in accordance with familiar principles applicable to grants, that the grant may be accepted or declined. Acceptance may be presumed in the absence of evidence of a contrary intent. But we found no constitutional principle 'which compels acceptance by the United States of an exclusive jurisdiction contrary to its own conception of its interests.' The mere fact that the Government needs title to property within the boundaries of a state 'does not necessitate the assumption by the Government of the burdens incident to an exclusive jurisdiction.
the United States acquired exclusive jurisdiction when the land was ceded to it with consent of the State (except for the State's express reservation as to civil and criminal process) just as if the United States had acquired its title by negotiation and payment of a money consideration.
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