State Maximalism, the Conflict of Laws and Federal Common Law
This project explores the role of federal common law in establishing and enforcing principles of interstate relations to resolve conflicts among states, particularly states engaged in aggressive extraterritorial uses of their authority.
It uses the regulation of abortion following the overruling of Roe v. Wade and its progeny, the regulation of access to health care for trans people, and hostile responses to the marriages of same-sex couples as points of reference in examining the disruptive impact that state maximalism can have on the functioning of our federal-state system and argues that a federal common law of interstate relations is a necessary structural feature of that system when states push the boundaries of their extraterritorial authority.
This analytical approach builds on arguments I have developed in other work about the often-unacknowledged role that a federal common law of interstate relations plays in choice of law analysis.
About the Public Law Workshop
Michigan’s Public Law Workshop provides an opportunity for faculty and students from across the University to enjoy weekly presentations by leading scholars producing current work on topics ranging from constitutional law and administrative law to international law, statutory interpretation and beyond. Professors Julian Mortenson and Maureen Carroll organize the workshop. If you would like to receive workshop announcements, please contact Alex Wroble ([email protected]) and ask to have your name added to the workshop’s email list.
