Jack Cody v. California Air Resources Board, et al.

“[T]he State courts . . . have a concurrent jurisdiction in all cases arising under the laws of the Union, where it was not expressly prohibited.” Tafflin v. Levitt, 493 U.S. 455, 470 (1990) (Scalia, J., concurring) (quoting The Federalist No. 82 (Alexander Hamilton)). In this case, the California courts refused to permit Petitioner to raise a federal constitutional defense in a California State enforcement proceeding under a California State environmental regulation, concluding that the jurisdictional provisions of the Clean Air Act (“CAA”), 42 U.S.C. § 7607(b)(1), rebutted the presumption of concurrent state court jurisdiction. The Court acknowledged that the CAA was silent on this novel question. The question presented is: In this case of first impression before this Court, does the CAA withdraw concurrent state court jurisdiction to adjudicate the constitutionality of state regulations, where 42 U.S.C. § 7607(b)(1) is altogether silent on the subject of state court jurisdiction?