190
Ginsburg, J., dissenting
properly in holding on to this case, rather than allowing the state courts to proceed in their normal course.
V
In Ankenbrandt v. Richards, 504 U. S. 689 (1992), we addressed the question whether civil actions for divorce, alimony, or child custody fall within § 1332 when the parties are of diverse citizenship. Nothing in the text of the Constitution or in the words of § 1332 excluded parties from bringing such "civil actions" in federal court. Historically, however, decrees terminating marriages had been considered wholly within the State's domain. See Barber v. Barber, 21 How. 582 (1859). That understanding, we noted in Anken-brandt, had prevailed "for nearly a century and a half." 504 U. S., at 694-695. "Given the long passage of time without any expression of congressional dissatisfaction," we reaffirmed the absence of statutory jurisdiction for federal court adjudication of original civil actions for divorce, alimony, and child custody. Id., at 703. The Court explained that its conclusion was also
"supported by sound policy considerations. . . . [S]tate courts are more eminently suited to work of this type than are federal courts, which lack the close association with state and local government organizations dedicated to handling [the] issues [involved]." Id., at 703-704.6
6 Ankenbrandt clarified and illustrated "that the domestic relations exception encompasses only cases involving the issuance of a divorce, alimony, or child custody decree"; claims of a kind traditionally adjudicated in federal courts, for example, tort or contract claims, are not excepted from federal-court jurisdiction simply because they arise in a domestic relations context. Ankenbrandt v. Richards, 504 U. S., at 704. In enacting the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, 108 Stat. 1916, 42 U. S. C. § 13931 et seq., Congress reinforced Ankenbrandt by providing expressly that 28 U. S. C. § 1367 shall not be construed, by reason of a claim arising under the Act, "to confer on the courts of the United States jurisdiction over any State law claim seeking the establishment of a divorce, alimony, equitable distribution of marital property, or child custody decree." 42 U. S. C. § 13981(e)(4).
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