§46.03 Relationship Between State and Federal Law

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§ 46.03 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STATE AND FEDERAL LAW

The UCCJEA establishes when a court may entertain a custody action and when another state's custody decree is entitled to interstate recognition. The PKPA controls when a custody decree is entitled to full faith and credit. This section describes the manner in which the two laws interact.

[1] Federal Law Prevails if Conflict

The PKPA was enacted to establish national standards under which the courts determine jurisdiction and the effect to be given to decisions by courts of other jurisdictions. Congressional Findings and Declaration of Purposes for Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act of 1980, Pub. L. No. 96-611 § 7, 94 Stat. 3566 (1980), reprinted in 28 U.S.C.A. § 1738A. The UCCJA that followed and was enacted in states across the country, however, conflicted with the PKPA in how jurisdiction was determined, resulting in confusion over conflict with the state and federal laws.

The prevailing view has been that to the extent the PKPA differs from the state law, federal law preempts state law under the supremacy clause. See, e.g., State v. Carver, 113 Wn.2d 591, 607, 781 P.2d 1308 (1989), amended, 789 P.2d 306 (1990) ("Both the UCCJA and the PKPA provide for one state to modify the custody decree of another. Where conflicts arise between the two statutes, the PKPA preempts the other under the supremacy clause."); In re Marriage of...