Scarcely any legal question arises in the United States that is not resolved, sooner or later, through arbitration.  If Alexis de Tocqueville could survey contemporary American legal culture, he would rub his eyes with amazement at the privatization of adjudication across a wide swath of issues previously committed to judicial resolution.  Cf. Alden v. Maine, 527 U.S. 706, 807 (1999) (Souter, J., dissenting); Federal Maritime Comm'n v. South Carolina State Ports Auth., 535 U.S. 743, 755 (2002).  From trade disputes posing serious questions of economic diplomacy to consumer contracts adhering to cell phones and credit cards, mandatory arbitration has displaced…

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