abstention doctrine

abstention doctrine
n.
A policy that allows federal courts to relinquish jurisdiction over a matter and allow a state court to decide a federal constitutional question or a matter of state law.

The Essential Law Dictionary. — Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. . 2008.


abstention doctrine
The principle underlying a federal court's decision not to hear a case or controversy that is also being considered by a state court. Federal courts will abstain when they want to avoid the possibility that their decisions could conflict with a state's administration of its own affairs.
Category: If, When & Where to File a Lawsuit
Category: Mediation, Arbitration & Collaborative Law
Category: Small Claims Court & Lawsuits

Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary. . 2009.


abstention doctrine
The concept under which a federal court exercises its discretion and equitable powers and declines to decide a legal action over which it has jurisdiction pursuant to the Constitution and statutes where the state judiciary is capable of rendering a definitive ruling in the matter.

Dictionary from West's Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005.


abstention doctrine
The concept under which a federal court exercises its discretion and equitable powers and declines to decide a legal action over which it has jurisdiction pursuant to the Constitution and statutes where the state judiciary is capable of rendering a definitive ruling in the matter.

Short Dictionary of (mostly American) Legal Terms and Abbreviations.

abstention doctrine
n.
   when the Supreme Court refuses to exercise its federal constitutional jurisdiction or declines to consider a question of state law arising from a case being appealed from a state court.

Law dictionary. . 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • abstention doctrine — Doctrine of abstention permits a federal court, in the exercise of its discretion, to relinquish jurisdiction where necessary to avoid needless conflict with the administration by a state of its own affairs. Surowitz v. New York City Emp.… …   Black's law dictionary

  • abstention doctrine — Doctrine of abstention permits a federal court, in the exercise of its discretion, to relinquish jurisdiction where necessary to avoid needless conflict with the administration by a state of its own affairs. Surowitz v. New York City Emp.… …   Black's law dictionary

  • Abstention doctrine — United States Federal Civil Procedure Doctrines Justiciability Advisory …   Wikipedia

  • abstention doctrine — noun A rule under which a federal court in the United States will decline to exercise jurisdiction over a lawsuit because the suit could or should instead be heard by a state court …   Wiktionary

  • doctrine — doc·trine / däk trən/ n: a principle established through judicial decisions compare law, precedent doc·tri·nal / trə nəl/ adj Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster …   Law dictionary

  • Abstention (disambiguation) — Abstention or abstaining is refusing to vote in an election or in a parliamentary vote. It may also refer to: *abstentionism, standing for election to an assembly while boycotting the assembly itself *abstention doctrine, applied by a court… …   Wikipedia

  • equitable abstention doctrine — A court may refrain from exercising jurisdiction which it possesses in the interest of comity between courts and between states as in the case of actions involving the affairs of a foreign corporation or foreign land. Doctrine also applies to… …   Black's law dictionary

  • equitable abstention doctrine — A court may refrain from exercising jurisdiction which it possesses in the interest of comity between courts and between states as in the case of actions involving the affairs of a foreign corporation or foreign land. Doctrine also applies to… …   Black's law dictionary

  • doctrine — A rule, principle, theory, or tenet of the law; as, e.g. Abstention doctrine; Clean hands doctrine, etc …   Black's law dictionary

  • doctrine — A rule, principle, theory, or tenet of the law; as, e.g. Abstention doctrine; Clean hands doctrine, etc …   Black's law dictionary

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