Anna Nicole Smith probate jurisdiction ruling [US SC] News
Anna Nicole Smith probate jurisdiction ruling [US SC]

Marshall v. Marshall, Supreme Court of the United States, May 1, 2006 [ruling that federal courts can in some cases decide disputes which involve state probate laws].

Excerpt from the Opinion per Justice Ginsburg:

the probate exception reserves to state probate courts the probate or annulment of a will and the administration of a decedent's estate; it also precludes federal courts from endeavoring to dispose of property that is in the custody of a state probate court. But it does not bar federal courts from adjudicating matters outside those confines and otherwise within federal jurisdiction.

Read the full text of the Opinion, with a concurrence by Justice Stevens. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Memphis Massacre of 1866 breaks out

The Memphis Massacre of 1866 broke out on May 1 of that year after Black Union veterans and police were involved in an altercation surrounding the arrest of a Black soldier. The ensuing skirmish spiralled out of control due to the racial tensions that followed the end of the US Civil War, lasting for two days and claiming the lives of 46 Black people and six whites.  The riot later cemented support for what would become the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Consitution, ensuring equal protection under the law. Learn more about the Memphis Massacre.  

Acts of Union creates Great Britain

On May 1, 1707, the two Acts of Union went into effect, implementing the Treaty of Union and thereby uniting the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain. The Union with Scotland Act was passed by the Parliament of England in 1706, and the Scottish Parliament promulgated the Union with England Act. Learn more about the Acts of Union from the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

First US trade union formed

On May 1, 1794, the Federal Society of Journeymen Cordwainers (shoemakers) was organized in Philadelphia to negotiate wages for its members, becoming the first trade union in the United States. Learn more about the history of the labor movement in the United States, and visit the website of the AFL-CIO, the federation of America's labor unions, representing more than 13 million workers.