Verified Document

Jurisdiction The Law Expresses Itself Through The Essay

Jurisdiction The law expresses itself through the means of the court and its officers. The procedures and rules that accompany the various legal systems of these courts is essential knowledge for those wishing to gain a deeper understanding of the law and how it works. The purpose of this essay is to discuss and compare the differences jurisdictional issues within the United States court system. This paper will first define these terms before examining some of the requirements for each type of issue. This essay will also discuss the two types of cases federal courts may hear.

Subject vs. Personal Jurisdiction

According to the Legal Dictionary personal jurisdiction is the "The power of a court to hear and determine a lawsuit involving a defendant by virtue of the defendant's having some contact with the place where the court is located." According to the legal dictionary subject matter jurisdiction is " The power of a court to hear and determine cases of the general class to which the proceedings in question belong."

Personal jurisdiction is the constitutional requirement that a defendant have certain minimum contacts with the forum in which the court sits so that the court may exercise power over the defendant. Subject-matter jurisdiction is the requirement that the court have power to hear the specific kind of claim that is brought to that court. While the parties may waive personal jurisdiction and submit to the authority of the court, the parties may not waive subject-matter jurisdiction. In...

That is, state courts are presumed to have power to hear virtually any claim arising under federal or state law, except those falling under the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal courts. However, some states deny subject matter jurisdiction to specific claims, such as those arising in other states. In addition to courts of general jurisdiction, most states also maintain specialized courts of limited subject-matter jurisdiction. Examples of these types of courts include probate courts, traffic courts, juvenile courts, and small claims courts.
Personal jurisdiction comes with a special responsibility from the courts. Historically, personal jurisdiction law has changed over time reflecting changes of a more mobile society. Initially, personal jurisdiction would only be found if the party was physically present in the forum state. The U.S. Supreme Court later reformulated this approach to allow jurisdiction over non-resident individuals and entities based on the "minimum contacts" of the out-of-state party.

Determining that a court has personal jurisdiction over a particular defendant is simple when you file the suit in the state in which the defendant resides or does business. The nearly universal rule is that the courts in a state have personal jurisdiction over all people or businesses that are citizens of or do business in that state.…

Sources used in this document:
References

Kesan, J.(ND). Brief Summary of Personal Jurisdiction Law. University of Illinois College of Law. Viewed 5 Sep 2013. Web.

The Legal Dictionary (ND). "Personal Jurisdiction." Viewed 8 Sep 2013. Web.

The Legal Dictionary (ND). Subject Matter Jurisdiction." Viewed 8 Sep 2013. Web.

Spencer, B. (1999). Nationwide Personal Jurisdiction for our Federal Courts. Denver Universtiy Law Review, 87,(2). Web
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Universal Criminal Jurisdiction When a
Words: 4633 Length: 14 Document Type: Term Paper

This is not a new development -- international law had long recognised universal jurisdiction for piracy and slavery, for example -- but it marks an extension of the principle, in a modified form, into a new subject area' (emphasis added). In fact, Goodwin (2006) points out that, 'For hundreds of years, the world has allowed any nation-state to exercise universal jurisdiction over high seas piracy. This has been recently codified

The Sources of America's Laws
Words: 1435 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Sources of U.S. LawIntroductionToday, most Americans are rightfully proud of the fact that the United States is a land of laws, but many may not realize the multiple sources of the laws that routinely affect their daily lives (Lupu, 2013). To help address this constraint, the purpose of this paper is to provide a description of the major sources of law under the American system of jurisprudence and how these

Law Enforcement Priorities and Public Sector Leadership
Words: 5421 Length: 18 Document Type: Essay

Undocumented Immigrants in Gainesville The city of Gainesville has a population of about 54,000 and of these, approximately 3,200 are illegal aliens. The law enforcement community in this city is charged with protecting these undocumented aliens on the one hand and enforcing illegal immigrant laws on the other. To the extent that undocumented residents are afraid that the police will enforce the latter may be the extent to which they are

Laws and International Trade
Words: 3140 Length: 10 Document Type: Essay

Intrenational Business Governing Language Governing Law and Forum Selection Arbitration Boilerplate Language in International Contracts USA-Brazil Trade: Rules of Trade Other Important Agreement and Laws Governing U.S. and Brazilian Trade Comparison of Arbitration in South Carolina and Brazil Conflicts arising out of contracts between international trading parties are on the increase with the rise and increase in international business and international trade. The courts that would hear and decide matters related to business conflicts between trading partners would

Gilbert Law Summaries: Constitutional Law
Words: 10293 Length: 32 Document Type: Term Paper

This essay provides a brief overview of several of the key factors in conflict of laws, including the areas where choice of law is likely to be at issue. Domicile Domicile is one of the key factors in choice of law. Domicile is not the same as location. Instead, domicile is a legal fiction connecting a person to a location for a specific purpose. Domicile impacts jurisdiction and choice of law.

Australian Consumer Law ACL Is a Broad-Based
Words: 2059 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

Australian Consumer Law (ACL) is a broad-based law the impacts both businesses and consumers. The ACL represents a unified codification of a variety of prior product liability laws. In fact, one of its main benefits is that the law is applicable throughout Australia. Another major component of the law is that it imposes a strict liability standard on manufacturers and suppliers of goods, which was not a uniform standard prior

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now