Legal Commentary

Want to know why civ pro teachers still burden students with Pennoyer v. Neff? Maybe because we have not had anything new to work with in 20 years. The Court today hears Goodyear Lux Tires v. Brown and J. McIntyre Machinery v. Nicastro (in which I signed a scholars' amicus), both of which deal with various issues of jurisdiction over foreign manufacturers. These are, potentially, the first major personal jurisdiction cases to come to SCOTUS since 1990--during Justice Brennan's final term on the Court. Plus, we get a chance to see if the justices' handling of civil procedure issues in oral argument has improved.