The Difference Between Power and Permission
Concepts such as supplemental jurisdiction and joinder of parties are difficult enough to grapple with individually. Yet these doctrines do not exist in isolation; they interact to create a system[1] that lawyers must understand as a whole in order to litigate effectively. The real challenge (and fascination) of civil procedure is to try to see how the various pieces of the puzzle fit together into an interrelated, consistent framework for adjudication.
The preceding chapters have separately analyzed the rules governing joinder of claims and parties, on the one hand, and the doctrine of supplemental jurisdiction on the other. However, a particular suit is proper only if both the joinder rules and the jurisdictional requirements are met. This chapter will explore the interrelations of these affiliated doctrines.