ThisbookoffersanewaccountofthepoweroffederalcourtsintheUnitedStatestohearanddetermineuncontestedapplicationstoassertorregisteraclaimofright.Familiartolawyersincivillawcountriesasformsofvoluntaryornon-contentiousjurisdiction,theseuncontestedapplicationsfituneasilywiththecommitmenttoadversarylegalismintheUnitedStates.Indeed,modernaccountsoffederaljudicialpoweroftenurgethatthelanguageoftheArticleIIIoftheU.S.Constitutionlimitsfederalcourtstotheadjudicationofconcretedisputesbetweenadverseparties,therebyrulingoutallformsofnon-contentiousjurisdiction.Saidtorestontheso-called“case-or-controversy“requirementofArticleIII,thisrequirementofpartycontestationthreatensthepoweroffederalcourtstoconductarangeoffamiliarproceedings,suchastheoversightofbankruptcyproceedings,theissuanceofwarrants,andtheadjudicationofapplicationsformandamusandhabeascorpusrelief.ByrecountingthetraditionofnaturalizationandotheruncontestedlitigationinantebellumAmericaandcouplingthattraditionwithanaccountoftheimportantdifferencebetweencasesandcontroversies,thisbookchallengestheprevailingunderstandingofArticleIII.Inadditiontodefendingthepoweroffederalcourtstohearuncontestedmattersoffederallaw,thebookexaminesthewaytheConstitution’smeaninghaschangedovertimeandsuggestsaconstructiveinterpretivemethodologythatwouldallowtheSupremeCourttotakeaccountoftheoldandthenewindefiningthecontoursoffederaljudicialpower.
