Federalist #82

The Judiciary Continued  (Hamilton)

The subject of this Federalist paper concerns the role of state courts in regard to federal matters. The main question is what is the proper procedure if/when there is concurrent jurisdiction between the federal courts and state courts. Hamilton starts by noting that power is clearly delineated in the Constitution. There are powers that belong only to the federal government expressly, there are powers that are expressly given to the federal government and prohibited to the states and there are powers that are given to the federal government that allowing the states to have as well would make little to no sense. 

Hamilton notes that there is concurrent jurisdiction but notes that preventing the states from ruling in these matters is not an abridgment of their liberties since states did not have the right to rule on federal matters before (there was no federal government before the Constitution). In addition, the Supreme Court is mostly an appellate court and with so few other federal courts, state courts will take the lead in hearing these cases and the federal courts will exist to backstop these cases and situations.