1.6 Court Jurisdiction

Generally, there are two types of court jurisdiction: 1) subject matter jurisdiction A court’s authority over the law and facts involved in a lawsuit; also known as in rem jurisdiction (Latin for “against the thing”) and 2) personal jurisdiction a court’s authority over the parties involved in a lawsuit; also known as in personam jurisdiction (Latin for “against the person”). Jurisdiction over the subject matter, sometimes called in rem jurisdiction, means the court has authority to hear the case because it has jurisdiction over the property involved in the controversy. For example, a dispute arises over the ownership of a boat docked in San Diego, California, and both parties in the dispute are residents of Nevada. In this case, the California state court has jurisdiction to hear the dispute because the property is located in California.

Personal jurisdiction, or in personam jurisdiction, refers to the power of the court to exercise authority over the parties in the lawsuit. For example, a state supreme court has jurisdictional authority over all the residents and businesses within the state.

When a party submits a complaint to a court, he or she agrees to be subject to a court’s jurisdiction. A defendant becomes subject to a court’s jurisdiction by way of a summonsA legal notice from a court delivered to a defendant —a legal notice of the complaint, usually delivered in person or to the place of the defendant’s residence. The power of courts to exercise personal jurisdiction over persons not living within its jurisdiction has expanded over time. Most states have so-called long-arm statutesA law that allows a state court to exercise jurisdiction over a person who lives out of state , which allow a court to exercise jurisdiction over a non-resident person who has developed “minimum contacts” with the state by way of business interests, travel, or other factors, as long as principles of fundamental fairness are not violated. For example, the state of Oregon has personal jurisdiction over a Utah resident who caused a car accident in Oregon.

In the federal courts, jurisdiction is limited to two situations: First, there must be a federal question a form of jurisdiction in a dispute directly involving reliance on the Constitution or federal law present in the case. That is, the plaintiff’s case must include some reliance on interpretation of the Constitution, federal law, or international treaty. For example, the state of Oregon has personal jurisdiction over a Utah resident who caused a car accident in Oregon. Second, a case may also be heard by a federal court if there is diversity of citizenship A form of jurisdiction in a dispute in which parties are diverse in citizenship among the parties to the dispute. This usually requires that the parties live in different states and the case has over $75,000 at issue. For example, George, an Alabama resident, is driving his car in Alabama when he negligently hits and totals an $85,000 car driven by Michelle, a Tennessee resident. Because the parties reside in different states, Michelle can sue George and bring her case in federal court in Alabama. Unlike federal courts, states courts are not limited to federal question or diversity of citizenship disputes and have broad jurisdiction to hear many different types of cases.