A Practical Guide to Uncontested Adjudication

This chapter provides a primer on best practices in uncontested adjudication. Drawing lessons from the antebellum experience, the chapter reiterates the idea that important constitutional limits on federal adjudication—including the judicial finality requirement in Article III and the due process requirement of fair notice—fully apply to uncontested matters. The chapter further explains the importance of the judicial role in ensuring full development of the factual record in uncontested proceedings. The chapter explains how federal courts might best handle the uncontested adjudication of prisoner petitions through closer attention to the best practices outlined here. It concludes with a discussion of the federal judicial role in probate and domestic relations matters.