Jurisdiction:

The authority of a court to hear and decide a case.

To make a legally valid decision in a case, a court must have both “subject matter jurisdiction” (power to hear the type of case in question, which is granted by the state legislatures and Congress) and “personal jurisdiction” (power to make a decision affecting the parties involved in the lawsuit, which a court gets as a result of the parties’ actions).

For example, state court‘s subject matter jurisdiction includes the civil and criminal laws that the state legislature has passed, but does not include the right to hear patent disputes or immigration violations, which Congress has decided may only be heard in federal courts.

And no court can entertain a case unless the parties agree to be there or live in the state (or federal district) where the court sits, or have enough contacts with the state or district that it’s fair to make them answer to that court.

(Doing business in a state, owning property there or driving on its highways will usually be enough to allow the court to hear the case.) The term jurisdiction is also commonly used to define the amount of money a court has the power to award.

For example, small claims courts have jurisdiction only to hear cases up to a relatively low monetary amount–depending on the state, typically in the range of $2,000-$10,000.

If a court doesn’t have personal jurisdiction over all the parties and the subject matter involved, it “lacks jurisdiction,” which means it doesn’t have the power to render a decision.

Jurisdiction Ju`ris*dic"tion, n. [L. jurisdictio; jus, juris, right, law + dictio a saying, speaking: cf. OF. jurisdiction, F. juridiction. See Just, a., and Diction.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Law) The legal power, right, or authority of a particular court to hear and determine causes, to try criminals, or to execute justice; judicial authority over a cause or class of causes; as, certain suits or actions, or the cognizance of certain crimes, are within the jurisdiction of a particular court, that is, within the limits of its authority or commission. [1913 Webster] 2. The authority of a sovereign power to govern or legislate; the right of making or enforcing laws; the power or right of exercising authority. [1913 Webster] To live exempt From Heaven's high jurisdiction. --Milton. [1913 Webster] You wrought to be a legate; by which power You maim'd the jurisdiction of all bishops. --Shak. [1913 Webster] 3. Sphere of authority; the limits within which any particular power may be exercised, or within which a government or a court has authority. [1913 Webster] Note: Jurisdiction, in its most general sense, is the power to make, declare, or apply the law. When confined to the judiciary department, it is what we denominate the judicial power, the right of administering justice through the laws, by the means which the laws have provided for that purpose. Jurisdiction is limited to place or territory, to persons, or to particular subjects. --Duponceau. [1913 Webster] jurisdiction n 1: (law) the right and power to interpret and apply the law; "courts having jurisdiction in this district" [syn: {legal power}, jurisdiction] 2: in law; the territory within which power can be exercised

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