Overview
It is important for judges and individuals working with juveniles under the ICJ to have a sound understanding of the law of interstate compacts. The legal environment for compacts involves an amalgamation of compact texts and case law from federal and state courts throughout the country. Because there are relatively few court decisions establishing legal principles in any particular court, courts frequently consider other federal and state court decisions for their interpretation and application of a compact, and the texts of other compacts and case law involving other compacts for generally applicable principles of compact law. Section 1.10 at the end of this chapter contains suggested additional reading on interstate compacts and interstate compact law.
As noted in the introduction and explained in this chapter, interstate compacts are not mere agreements between the states subject to statutory and regulatory interpretations or selective application. First and foremost, they are statutory contracts that bind the member states, their agencies and officials, and their citizens to an agreed set of principles and understandings. They are not a series of recommended procedures or discretionary proposals that may be disregarded for convenience, and they are not uniform, model, or suggested state laws, or administrative agreements between agencies or executive officials. Understanding the unique standing of interstate compacts in the American legal system is important to applying their terms and conditions correctly and avoiding costly mistakes that may land a state in legal jeopardy vis-à-vis fulfilling its contractual obligations.