Aurrecoechea v. Bangs was a United States Supreme Court case that addressed the issue of whether a foreign judgment could be enforced in the United States. The case involved a dispute between two Spanish citizens, Juan Aurrecoechea and Francisco Bangs, over a debt owed by Bangs to Aurrecoechea. Aurrecoechea had obtained a judgment against Bangs in a Spanish court, and then sought to enforce the judgment in the United States. The Supreme Court held that the foreign judgment was not enforceable in the United States. The Court reasoned that the foreign judgment was not binding in the United States because it was not based on the laws of the United States, and because the Spanish court did not have jurisdiction over the parties. The Court also noted that the foreign judgment was not recognized by the United States as a valid judgment. The Court's decision in Aurrecoechea v. Bangs established that foreign judgments are not enforceable in the United States unless they are based on the laws of the United States and are recognized by the United States as valid judgments. This decision has been cited in numerous subsequent cases involving the enforcement of foreign judgments in the United States.

In the case of Aurrecoechea v. Bangs, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a foreign judgment could be enforced in a state court when it had been rendered by a court that lacked jurisdiction over the parties or subject matter. The majority opinion held that such judgments were not enforceable and should not be given effect in any other country or state. However, Justice Field dissented from this decision on two grounds: first, he argued that there is no general rule prohibiting enforcement of foreign judgments; second, he contended that even if there were such a rule, it would only apply to those cases where fraud was involved and did not extend to all cases involving lack of jurisdiction. He concluded by stating his belief that courts should give full faith and credit to validly obtained foreign judgments unless they are clearly fraudulent or otherwise invalid under local law.