Litigation & Arbitration,
U.S. Supreme Court,
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Nov. 29, 2011
Justices create judicial conundrum for state courts
The U.S. Supreme Court's endorsement of arbitration causes another snag for state court judges.
Lawrence Waddington
Neutral, JAMS
Email: waddington1@aol.com
Lawrence is a retired Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge and former assistant attorney general for the state of California. He is author of "Disorder in the Court" at Amazon.com. He also edits the 9th Circuit blog, "The 9th Circuit Watch."
That the U.S. Supreme Court vigorously endorses the role of arbitration in lieu of litigation no longer remains an open question. Within the last decade, the Court has extended the application of arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA; 9 U.S.C. 1-16) to include an expanded definition of "commerce," authorized arbitrators to resolve procedural issues, and derailed administration of labor disputes intended to avoid arbitration. And in its AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion de...