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Federal Admiralty Jurisdiction
"And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so."
Book of Genesis
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Jerome B. Grubart, Inc.
v.
Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co
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Federal Admiralty Jurisdiction
Justice Thomas Concurrence
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February 22, 1995
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Excerpt:
This case requires the Court to redefine once again the line between
federal admiralty jurisdiction and state power due to an ambiguous
balancing test. The fact that we have had to revisit this question for
the third time in a little over 10 years indicates the defects of the
Court's current approach. The faults of balancing tests are clearest,
and perhaps most destructive, in the area of jurisdiction. Vague and
obscure rules may permit judicial power to reach beyond its
constitutional and statutory limits, or they may discourage judges
from hearing disputes properly before them. Such rules waste judges' and litigants' resources better spent on the merits, as this case itself demonstrates. It is especially unfortunate that this has occurred in admiralty, an area that once provided a jurisdictional rule almost as clear as the 9th and 10th verses of Genesis: "And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called He Seas."
Text Excerpt:
 The Holy Bible
Book of Genesis
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth;
2 and the earth being without form and empty, and darkness on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moving gently on the face of the waters,
3 then God said, Let light be! And there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good, and God separated between the light and darkness.
5 And God called the light, Day. And He called the darkness, Night. And there was evening, and there was morning the first day.
6 And God said, Let an expanse be in the midst of the waters, and let it be dividing between the waters and the waters.
7 And God made the expanse, and He separated between the waters which were under the expanse and the waters which were above the expanse. And it was so.
8 And God called the expanse, Heavens. And there was evening, and there was morning the second day.
9 And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be collected to one place, and let the dry land appear. And it was so.
10 And God called the dry land, Earth. And He called the collection of the waters, Seas. And God saw that it was good.
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