When you step into the legal field, there are certain terms that you need to understand. This also includes jurisdiction. As a lawyer practicing in the courts, you do not want to be someone who doesn’t have the basic understanding of legal workings. Therefore, you should definitely know about what a legal jurisdiction is. What does it mean when the court orders a jurisdiction and how many types of jurisdictions are there? What does each type of jurisdiction mean?
If you want to know the answers to all these questions, then you have come to the right place. Gain all required knowledge and understanding to be comfortable in the courtroom when the judge asserts a jurisdiction. With the proper knowledge of these things, you will be able to win all cases. We have compiled all relevant information for you. Now you can get all the information from just one place. Isn’t that great?
So, what are you waiting for? Give this article a thorough read to find out all the answers to any questions that you may have regarding jurisdiction. Let us jump right in!
What is jurisdiction?
The word jurisdiction originates from two Latin words: juris and dicta, where the former means law and the latter means speech. Therefore, the literal translation of these words into English means, ‘I speak by law’. Jurisdiction is characterized as the extent of legal position or the degree to which an official courtroom can practice its power over suits, cases, bids and so on.
Jurisdiction over an individual applies to the power to bring him before the judge as a defendant. Furthermore, jurisdiction regarding a certain subject matter applies to the power acquired from the country’s constitution or laws to deal with a specific case. In addition to this, jurisdiction regarding a region applies to the geographic area upon which the court has the power to settle on cases. Moreover, simultaneous jurisdiction takes place where two courts have concurrent duty regarding a similar case.
What are the three types of jurisdictions?
In order to enhance your knowledge as to what jurisdiction is, you also need to know about the types of jurisdiction. Each court system has jurisdiction over specific cases, from authorizing transit regulations to hearing capital homicide allegations. There are three types of jurisdictions:
- Original jurisdiction
- Appellate jurisdiction
- Exclusive jurisdiction
Original jurisdiction
Original jurisdiction means that the court is supposed to hear the case first. For instance, civil courts usually have original jurisdiction regarding traffic offenses that take place within city bounds.
The federal courts have original jurisdiction on all matters that deal with civil law. You must remember that these courts can likewise practice original jurisdiction on matters that include diversity jurisdiction.This type of jurisdiction happens when the individuals are residents of two separate states, or one is a U.S. resident and the other is a resident of a different country. A diversity litigant may decide to get the case to the federal court, however state law might be utilized to decide the solution for the case.
Apart from the federal courts, other courts with original jurisdiction are:
- State trial courts
- Traffic courts
- Family courts
- Juvenile courts
- Bankruptcy courts
- Tax courts
- United States Supreme Court
These are the different types of courts where the court has the right to hear the case first. Now, you must be wondering as to why the US Supreme Court is present in the list. Let us tell you that the US Constitution permits the Supreme court to use original jurisdiction to hear cases that revolve around ambassadors, matters between two states, or a case where a citizen sues his or her state.
Appellate jurisdiction
This means that the court hears an appeal from a court that practices original jurisdiction. Appellate jurisdiction grants authority to the appeals court to reassess and revise a lower court’s decision. You should not fail to remember that there are chances that the appellate court will not listen to the entire case. After all, it is not a fresh legal proceeding.
Thus, the appellate court only reviews a doubtful case. These issues will include whether the lower court made a blunder while applying the suitable law to the realities of the case. On request, the appellate court has the ability to adjust or turn around the lower court’s choice.
Apart from the federal courts, there are also other courts that practice appellate jurisdiction. These include:
- State courts of appeal
- State superior courts
- State supreme courts
- Federal district courts
- United States Supreme Court
Exclusive Jurisdiction
Exclusive jurisdiction alludes to the authority of a court to settle a case to the rejection of every single other court. It is the sole gathering for assurance of a specific sort of case.Exclusive jurisdiction is settled based on the topic managed by a specific court. For instance, the U.S. area courts have this type of jurisdiction on liquidation matters. Elite locale is given on courts by the U.S. constitution, different rules or agreement between the gatherings.
The jurisdiction is considered to be concurrent when two or more different courts hold the power to listen to the case and select the same solution to the case within the same territory. Courts that practice exclusive jurisdiction will only hear a certain case.
The basis to determine jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is established mainly on the basis of:
- Financial value
- The subject matter of court
- Geographical limitations of a court
Along these lines, before tolerating any notice of wrongdoing, the court needs to contemplate the accompanying qualities:
- The financial value of the trial.
- The specificities of the case.
- The regional restrictions of the court.
It isn’t just reasonable that the board ought to reserve any privilege to manage the issue or that the court has a monetary ward or that the court has a nearby purview, however the court must have the option to allow the remuneration in such issues. On account of Official Trustee Vs another person, the court held that so as to manage the point the court must not be the main locale to choose a particular issue yet in addition the court can provide the request for which it is analyzed.
What are a few examples of jurisdiction?
To explain what exactly jurisdiction is, a family law court has the position to hear and choose matters identified with divorce, child support and care, child custody, and other related issues, if the family lives in the court’s geographical district. However, family court doesn’t have jurisdiction to hear a criminal case, regardless of whether it by one way or another identifies with a family issue.
For example, let us imagine that a couple is going through a messy divorce which also involves a child custody battle. The man abused the woman and she ended up in the hospital. The children were sent to their guardians and the man was charged with felony spousal assault.
In such a case, the family court will only deal with the matter regarding divorce and child custody. However, It does not possess the power to carry out legal proceedings against the man on the basis of his criminal offense. Only the criminal court holds this power.
Conclusion
Now you know everything about jurisdiction and are ready to tackle any legal challenges thrown your way.
