Summary: In a recent article, constitutional lawyer Charles Cooper argued that federal courts have erred by too narrowly construing their statutory grants of diversity jurisdiction. Mr. Cooper urges the courts to recognize much broader federal jurisdiction based on diversity of citizenship as a matter of both statutory and constitutional interpretation. Others have called on Congress to consider legislation that would expand federal courts' diversity jurisdiction to include all cases in which any two parties come from different states. Our panel will include members of the federal judiciary to discuss whether (and if so, how) federal court jurisdiction should be expanded. -- The Federalist Society's Practice Groups presented this panel on "Diversity Jurisdiction from Strawbridge to CAFA" on Friday, November 14, during the 2014 National Lawyers Convention. -- Featuring: Hon. Charles J. Cooper, Partner, Cooper & Kirk, PLLC, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel; Hon. Edith H. Jones, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit; and Hon. J. Harvie Wilkinson III, United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit. Introduction: Mr. Dean A. Reuter, Vice President & Director of Practice Groups, The Federalist Society.
