The FAA Dictates the Supremacy of Arbitration Agreements . . . Right?

Alternative dispute resolution practitioners know that the Supreme Court long ago made it clear that state legislatures and courts may not interfere with the federal policy, as expressed in the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq., favoring arbitration as a method of dispute resolution. Right? Yes and no. The Supreme Court has been quite clear—repeatedly—but the message continues to meet resistance. Once again, in the fall 2011 term, the Court had to repeat this message.