JURISDICTION

By Jean Murray
Updated May 28, 2016
What is Jurisdiction in a Lawsuit?
Jurisdiction, in general, is the power to exercise authority over persons and things
within a territory. In its legal use, jurisdiction means the power of a court to hear
and decide a case or issue a decree. Jurisdiction can also relate to a geographical
area in which a political authority is recognized.
The Legal Information Institute at Cornell University breaks jurisdiction down into
three components:

whether there is jurisdiction over the person,

whether there is jurisdiction over the subject matter, and

whether there is jurisdiction to render the particular judgment sought.

What is Jurisdiction over Subject Matter and Person?

When a legal case is being considered, one of the first questions involves where
that case will be heard; that is, the question of jurisdiction must be decided. The
jurisdiction of a legal case depends on both personal jurisdiction and subject matter
jurisdiction. Subject matter comes first.
To have the power to hear a case, a court must have both subject matter jurisdiction
and personal jurisdiction over the matter. For example, a business bankruptcy case
can only be heard in a bankruptcy court, but the location of the persons involved
determines the specific bankruptcy court hearing the case. Other cases in which
subject matter is important are immigration cases and patent disputes; both must
be heard in federal courts.
What are Some Examples of Jurisdiction?
Personal jurisdiction is based on where the parties (usually the defendant) lives
or has property or does business; these are usually state court issues. Most states
recognize residence and business location for personal jurisdiction.
For cases involving online vendors, the concept of "minimal contacts" can be used.
In these cases, if a person or business has "minimal contact" within the state, the
state can have jurisdiction. So, if an online vendor is a citizen of, say, Ohio, but the
business takes orders from someone in Indiana, the vendor could be said to have
"minimal contact" in Indiana, and Indiana could have jurisdiction, particularly if the
customer was in Indiana.

In custody disputes in divorce cases, including grandparent visitation, the lawsuit

will be filed in the state where the original divorce has been filed; the child's "home
state."
In divorce cases involving military personnel, there can be up to three
jurisdictions: the legal residence of the military member; the legal residence of the
spouse; and the state that the service member is stationed in.
What is Jurisdiction Over Money Claims?
Jurisdiction also relates to the amount of money at issue. For example, small
claims courts are limited to hearing cases involving only a small amount of money;
each state determines the monetary limit on small claims cases.
If a case is brought to a court which doesn't have both subject matter jurisdiction
and personal jurisdiction to hear the case, it is said that the court "lacks
jurisdiction." The case will need to be heard in a different court, one which has
jurisdiction over the matter.
Personal jurisdiction can also be used in cases of property ownership, even if the
person or business involved is located in another state. In these cases, the claim
should relate to the property at issue. If the lawsuit has nothing to do with the
property, the property can't be used to establish jurisdiction.
What's the Difference Between Federal and State Jurisdiction?
Most cases are heard in state courts, but federal courts have jurisdiction in 9
different types of cases:

Cases arising under the US Constitution; that is, cases which have a
Constitutional issue at their base

Cases arising under federal laws and treaties made by the United States

Ambassadors and public ministers

Disputes between two or more states

Admiralty law, and

Bankruptcy cases.

Cases involving the IRS and federal taxes are also heard by the U.S. Tax Court,while
cases involving state taxes are heard by state tax courts.
What is the Supreme Court's Jurisdiction?
People often say, "I'm taking that all the way to the Supreme Court," but what does
that really mean? The Supreme Court's jurisdiction is more limited than you might
think. It is charged by the U.S. constitution with judicial review for specific cases.
Read more about the Supreme Court's jurisdiction.
Other Types of Jurisdiction

Some types of jurisdiction:

Appellate jurisdiction: the power of a court to hear an appeal and to revise

or overturn a previous court's decision. For example, the Supreme Court is
the final appellant court in the appeals process.

Concurrent jurisdiction: Jurisdiction exercised simultaneously by more

than one court over the same subject matter and within the same territory. A
litigant can choose in which jurisdiction the case is filed.

Federal jurisdiction: The authority of a federal court to hear a case.