Mushlin Proposal for Federal Question Jurisdiction

The district courts shall have jurisdiction of any civil action in which a substantial question of federal law is a necessary element of either the plaintiff's claim or the defendant's response. In making this determination, the district court shall weigh the following factors: 1) the law that creates the cause of action sued upon, 2) the need for uniformity in the interpretation or enforcement of the federal law involved, 3) the need for federal expertise in the interpretation of difficult and complicated issues of the federal law involved, 4) the need for a sympathetic federal forum for adjudication of the federal law involved, and 5) the relative importance in terms of efficient judicial administration in a system of concurrent jurisdiction of the federal issue in the case as compared to the importance of the state law issues involved.