State-Federal Relations

Resource Guide

In accordance with the U.S. Constitution, a majority of governmental functions upon which citizens depend are the responsibility of the state, rather than the federal, government. State court systems collectively handle many times the volume of cases handled within the federal court system, and while relations between the two spheres of are generally smooth, issues such as the federal statutory preemption of state and local authority continues to exist.

Links to related online resources are listed below. Non-digitized publications may be borrowed from the NCSC Library; call numbers are provided.


Featured Links

Issue: Federalism Government Relations describes the impact, position, and summary on the issue of Federalism in Congress.

General

Cheesman, Fred, Brian Ostrom, and Roger Hanson. A Tale of Two Laws Revisted: Investigating the Impact of Prisoner Litigation Reform Act and the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty. (January 2004). 103 pages.

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the impact of the PLRA and the AEDPA. The goal was to determine the extent to which AEDPA and the PLRA have affected the number of habeas corpus petitions and prisoner lawsuits filed, respectively.

Hewitt, William, Paula Hannaford, Catherine Gill, and Melissa Cantrell. Court Interpreting Services in State and Federal Courts: Reasons and Options for Inter-court Coordination. (October 1998).

This report explains court interpreting services in state and federal courts by examining the Consortium, whose purpose is to find qualified interpreters through rigorous testing.

Hanson, Roger and Henry Daley. Federal Habeas Corpus Review: Challenging State Court Criminal Convictions. (1995).

This report focuses on habeas corpus petitions in state courts, regarding the debate of creating a national policy for all such petitions. The authors provide examples and background information regarding habeas corpus policies in several states, present arguments, and then provide recommendations for answering the question of creating a national policy.

Federal Statutory Preemption of State and Local Authority: History, Inventory, and Issues. (1992). Washington, DC: U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations This work provides information regarding federal preemption of state and/or local authority by acts of Congress and by judicial and administrative interpretations of federal statues. It provides ways in which to interpret federal preemption powers and recommendations to local and state authorities for combating intrusive measures.
Clewett, Laurie. Federalism in Flux. (October 2003). State Government News: 6 This article addresses the 1990s boom of state empowerment and the general decline in emphasis on state influence with regards to the federal government since 2003. 
Flango, Victor. Habeas Corpus in State and Federal Courts. (1994). 120 pages.

Report presents findings about possible ways to reduce state/federal tensions resulting from habeas corpus petitions.

Apple, James, Paula Hannaford, and G. Thomas Munsterman. Manual for Cooperation Between State and Federal Courts. (1997). 247 pages. NCSC and Federal Judicial Center.

This manual promotes cooperation between state and federal courts.  It contains examples of practical steps state and federal judges and courts can take to save resources through sharing, to avoid scheduling or other conflicts that adversely affect court operations and the bar, and plan programs and other services that benefit both judiciaries.

Scalia, John. Prisoner Petitions in the Federal Courts, 1980-96. (1997). Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics This report tracks prisoner petitions in the federal courts between 1980 and 1996. The findings indicate that there has been an increase proportion of prisoner petitions terminated in U.S. district courts then appealed in the U.S. courts of appeal, an overall increase in prisoner litigation in both U.S. district and appeal courts, as well as a decline in the rate at which both federal and state inmates filed petitions.