the authority given by law to a court to try cases and rule on legal matters within
a particular geographic area and/or over certain types of legal cases. It is vital
to determine before a lawsuit is filed which court has jurisdiction. State courts
have jurisdiction over matters within that state, and different levels of courts
have jurisdiction over lawsuits involving different amounts of money. For example,
Superior Courts (called District or County Courts in several states) generally have
sole control of lawsuits for larger sums of money, domestic relations (divorces),
probate of estates of deceased persons, guardianships, conservatorships and trials
of felonies. In some states (like New York) probate and certain other matters are
within the jurisdiction of so-called Surrogate Courts. Municipal courts (or other
local courts) have jurisdiction over cases involving lesser amounts of money, misdemeanors
(crimes not punishable by state prison), traffic matters and preliminary hearings
on felony charges to determine if there is sufficient evidence to warrant a trial
by the Superior Court. Some states have police courts to handle misdemeanors. Jurisdiction
in the courts of a particular state may be determined by the location of real property
in a state (in rem jurisdiction), or whether the parties are located within the
state (in personam jurisdiction). Thus, a probate of Marsha Blackwood's estate would
be in Idaho where she lived and died, but jurisdiction over her title to real estate
in Utah will be under the jurisdiction of the Utah courts. Federal courts have jurisdiction
over lawsuits between citizens of different states, cases based on federal statutes
such as fair labor standards and antitrust violations, charges of federal crimes,
appeals from bankruptcy proceedings, maritime cases or legal actions involving federal
constitutional questions. Sometimes regulatory agencies have the initial jurisdiction
before any legal action may be filed in court. More than one court may have concurrent
jurisdiction, such as both state and federal courts, and the lawyer filing the lawsuit
may have to make a tactical decision as to which jurisdiction is more favorable
or useful to his/her cause, including time to get to trial, the potential pool of
jurors or other considerations. Appellate jurisdiction is given by statute to appeals
courts to hear appeals about the judgment of the lower court that tried a case,
and to order reversal or other correction if error is found. State appeals are under
the jurisdiction of the state appellate courts, while appeals from federal district
courts are within the jurisdiction of the courts of appeal and eventually the Supreme
Court. Jurisdiction is not to be confused with "venue," which means the best place
to try a case. Thus, any state court may have jurisdiction over a matter, but the
"venue" is in a particular county.
See also district court municipal court police court Superior Court Supreme Court
venue
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