Cite as: 510 U. S. 443 (1994)
Opinion of Stevens, J.
theless, like Lochner itself, Jensen has never been formally overruled. Indeed, in Knickerbocker Ice Co. v. Stewart, 253 U. S. 149 (1920), the same majority that decided Jensen reached the truly remarkable conclusion that even Congress could not authorize the States to apply their workmen's compensation laws in accidents subject to admiralty jurisdiction. See also Washington v. W. C. Dawson & Co., 264 U. S. 219 (1924).
As Justice Brandeis stated in dissent in Washington, it takes an extraordinarily long and tenuous "process of deduction" to find in a constitutional grant of judicial jurisdiction a strong federal pre-emption doctrine unwaivable even by Congress. See id., at 230-231. Jensen and its progeny represent an unwarranted assertion of judicial authority to strike down or confine state legislation—even state legislation approved by Act of Congress—without any firm grounding in constitutional text or principle. In my view, we should not rely upon and thereby breathe life into this dubious line of cases.
Jensen asks courts to determine whether the state law would materially impair "characteristic features" of federal maritime law. 244 U. S., at 216. The unhelpful abstractness of those words leaves us without a reliable compass for navigating maritime pre-emption problems. As Justice Kennedy demonstrates, the forum non conveniens doctrine may be classified as a "characteristic feature" of federal admiralty jurisprudence even though it did not originate in, nor is it exclusive to, the law of admiralty. Compare ante, at 449-450, with post, at 463-467. There is, however, no respectable judicial authority for the proposition that every "characteristic feature" of federal maritime law must prevail over state law.
As Justice Kennedy observes, post, at 462-463, it is not easy to discern a substantial policy justification for Louisi-presence in the sky but the articulate voice of some sovereign or
quasi-sovereign that can be identified," id., at 222.
459
Page: Index Previous 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007