Opinion

England v. Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners

  • 375 U.S. 411
  • 84 S. Ct. 461
  • 11 L. Ed. 2d 440
  • 1964 U.S. LEXIS 2264
Court
Supreme Court of the United States
Filed
Jan 13, 1964
Status
Published
Author
Black
On the bench
Brennan, Douglas, Black
Cited by
1,054 cases
Authority
More cited than 24.0%

Questioned by R&j Holding Co v. The Redevelopment Authority Of, 670 F.3d 420 (2011)

holding that a party may inform the state courts-that he or she is exposing the federal claims there only .for the purpose of complying with Government and Civic Employees Organizing Committee, CIO v. Windsor, 353 U.S. 364, 77 S.Ct. 838, 1 L.Ed.2d 894 (1957), and that he or she intends, should the state courts hold against him or her on the question of state law, to return 'to the district court for disposition of his or her federal contentions

How later courts described this case

  • holding that a party may inform the state courts-that he or she is exposing the federal claims there only .for the purpose of complying with Government and Civic Employees Organizing Committee, CIO v. Windsor, 353 U.S. 364, 77 S.Ct. 838, 1 L.Ed.2d 894 (1957), and that he or she intends, should the state courts hold against him or her on the question of state law, to return 'to the district court for disposition of his or her federal contentions
  • recognizing the “fundamental objections to any conclusion that a litigant who has properly invoked the jurisdiction of a Federal District Court to consider federal constitutional claims can be compelled, without his consent and through no fault of his own, to accept instead a state court’s determination of those claims”
  • explaining that in the context of federal abstention the U.S. Supreme Court has “on several occasions explicitly recognized that abstention ‘does not, of course, involve the abdication of federal jurisdiction, but only the postponement of its exercise’ ”
  • holding that a party may inform the state court “that he intends, should the state court! 1 hold against him on the question of state law, to return to [federal] District Court for disposition of his federal contentions.”

Written by the judges who cited it.

Later courts went against this

  • Questioned by R&j Holding Co v. The Redevelopment Authority Of, 670 F.3d 420 (2011)

    But the availability of an England reservation in the Williamson County context has been called into question by San Remo Hotel v. City & County of San Francisco, 545 U.S. 323, 125 S.Ct. 2491, 162 L.Ed.2d 315 (2005), in which the Supreme Court held that plaintiffs could not rely on England to avoid the bar of issue preclusion in a takings case.
    Court of Appeals for the Third CircuitDec 9, 2011Read it

Distinguished

  • Distinguished by Silva Rivera v. State Insurance Fund Corp., 488 F. Supp. 2d 72 (2007)

    375 U.S. 411, 84 S.Ct. 461, 11 L.Ed.2d 440 (1964), is inapplicable since the Plaintiff never engaged in the administrative procedures challenging his termination as officially notified after the pretermination hearing.
    District Court, D. Puerto RicoApr 26, 2007Read it
  • Distinguished by Carter v. Three Unknown Police Officers of the Wilmington Police Department, 619 F. Supp. 1253 (1985)

    Thus, the England exception is inapplicable here.
    District Court, D. DelawareOct 4, 1985Read it
  • Distinguished by Allen v. McCurry, 449 U.S. 90 (1980)

    The England decision is inapposite to the question before us.
    Supreme Court of the United StatesDec 9, 1980Read it
  • Distinguished by a later decision, 627 F.2d 582 (1980)

    The case of England v. Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, 375 U.S. 411, 84 S.Ct. 461, 11 L.Ed.2d 440 (1964), cited in the dissenting opinion, is distinguishable.
    Court of Appeals for the Second CircuitJul 2, 19802 citing opinionsRead it

The opinion

Mr. Justice Black,

concurring in part and dissenting in part.

I join in the judgment and in the opinion insofar as the Court holds that the District Court erred in the reasons it gave for dismissing appellants’ action. I am of the opinion, however, that the dismissal should be affirmed on the grounds relied upon by Judge J. Skelly Wright sitting alone in the District Court when the action first was brought: that the complaint failed to state a substantial federal question warranting exercise of jurisdiction. See Hitchcock v. Collenberg, 140 F. Supp. 894 (D. C. D. Md.), aff’d, 353 U. S. 919 ; cf. Ex parte Poresky, 290 U. S. 30 . Compare Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners v. Fife, 162 La. 681 , 111 So. 58 , aff’d, 274 U. S. 720 ; Dent v. West Virginia, 129 U. S. 114 . See also Judge Wisdom’s opinions dissenting from reversal of Judge Wright’s ruling, 259 F. 2d 626, 627 (C. A. 5th Cir.), and 263 F. 2d 661, 674 (C. A. 5th Cir.). Although a petition for certiorari to review the decision of the Fifth Circuit was denied, 359 U. S. 1012 , issues raised at that stage of the litigation which remain dispositive of the case are properly before us. Urie v. Thompson, 337 U. S. 163 .

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

A word about cookies

We need a few to keep you signed in and the library working. The rest help us see which pages people use and where they get stuck. They stay off unless you say yes.