This course addresses the constitutional and statutory provisions, as well as the judicially-created doctrines, that shape and limit the role that federal courts play in our system of government. It pays particular attention to issues implicating the separation of powers and federalism and to contending visions of the functions federal courts should perform in American society. Selected topics include the nature of the federal judicial function, standing and justiciability doctrines, congressional control of federal court jurisdiction, Supreme Court review of state court decisions, habeas corpus, the relationship between state and federal law, the federal question jurisdiction of the federal district courts, judicial abstention doctrines and the power of federal courts to enjoin state court proceedings, and state sovereign immunity from suit in federal and state courts.