Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Connecticut
State court orders enforceable in/upon another state?
It's NOT a homework assignment!! It is a real question! If a person who lives in Florida (for example) needs to obtain a grandparent's birth certificate from NY and NY refuses to comply, a court order may be pursued - but, can the court order be obtained in Florida or must it be done by a NY court? This question affects many people trying to obtain documents required for Italian citizenship jure sanguinis application and is especially vexing in NY where rules for obtaining vital records are especially strict.
I placed this under Constitutional Law becasue (it seems to me) it involves state's rights and interactions among states.
The question is, can a state court in one state ''order'' an office of another state to take some action which is contrary to the second state's statutes?
For example, can a Florida state court order the New York Department of Health Vital Records Bureau to release a birth/death certificate which, in accordance with NY statutes, the requestor is not otherwise entitled to receive?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: State court orders enforceable in/upon another state?
No.
Re: State court orders enforceable in/upon another state?
No. State courts do not have jurisdiction over the governments of other states. Federal courts do have such jurisdiction, however, and you may be able to get the order you want via a federal lawsuit. The case would most likely have to be filed in a federal court in New York; even if it could be filed in Florida, New York would likely be able to get it transferred to a federal court within that state.
Re: State court orders enforceable in/upon another state?
What I wrote my prior response, I did not think to mention that you can simply bring this lawsuit in a state court in New York. This would require you to either hire a New York lawyer and/or go to New York yourself for various proceedings, but the same would be true of a federal lawsuit filed in Florida and then transferred to New York.
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