How can state and federal courts work together?
There are many areas in which state and federal courts can work together to mutual benefit, whether for solving problems or simply conserving limited resources. Areas where the two systems can and have worked together include litigation issues, education and administrative matters, state-federal judicial councils, and regional state-federal judicial conferences. In 1997 the National Center for State Courts and Federal Judicial Center published a Manual for Cooperation Between State and Federal Courts (Washington, DC: Federal Judicial Center, 1997) to help coordinate and integrate the efforts of the state and federal court systems to make them work together as effectively as possible. The manual contains examples of practical steps that state and federal judges and courts can take to save resources, through sharing or other means, to avoid scheduling or other conflicts that adversely affect court operations and the bar, as well as to plan programs and other services that benefit both ju
