Expanding the Power of U.S. Courts in Private International Arbitration - Moderation Loses to an Extreme

Since its inception, 28 U.S.C. § 17822 has been the subject of revisions, amendments, and much debate. This history is symptomatic of the evolving nature of United States presence in the international legal and business world; however, the statutory changes have not always been clear in purpose or application. In 2004, the Supreme Court granted certiorari for Intel Corp. v. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., in order to solidify interpretation of § 1782's latest rendition, a 1964 congressional revision. Unfortunately, in expanding the accepted scope of § 1782, the Court created new ambiguity, especially in how the statute should relate to private international arbitration, that has since resulted in differing district opinions and conflicting commentary.

This note traces the progression of § 1782 interpretation from pre-Intel precedent to the most recent post-Intel reasoning of In re Oxus Gold4 and answers the question, "How far should § 1782 reach?"