{"id":10740,"date":"2017-12-12T04:22:15","date_gmt":"2017-12-12T04:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/?page_id=10740"},"modified":"2018-09-07T03:47:31","modified_gmt":"2018-09-07T03:47:31","slug":"jurisdiction-of-federal-courts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/?page_id=10740","title":{"rendered":"Jurisdiction of Federal Courts:"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0This page is also continued\u00a0from Intro<\/a>\u00a0>>>> Jurisdiction<\/a>\u00a0>>>>\u00a0Federal, State (County, Municipal), & Tribal Courts –\u00a0what’s the difference?<\/em><\/a>\u00a0>>>>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>Federal Courts<\/a>:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Excerpt from Represent Yourself in Court; How to Prepare & Try a Winning Cas<\/em>e<\/a> (7th ed.) by by Paul Bergman and Sara J. Berman (NOLO):<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0“In general, you file a case that involves state law in a state court.\u00a0 Because the overwhelming majority of cases (such as those involving personal injury claims, divorce, landlord-tenant problems, consumer claims, probate matters, and contract disputes) arise under state law, it is fairly easy to separate out the few types of cases that must (or can) be filed in a federal trial (district) court.\u00a0 Each state has at least one federal district court, and populous states contain as many as four different federal districts.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0You may file a case in federal district court only if the court has what lawyers call “subject matter jurisdiction<\/a>.”\u00a0 federal courts have subject matter jurisdiction<\/a>\u00a0<\/b><\/span>in two kinds of cases:”\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

federal-question jurisdiction<\/a><\/span> \u2013 the exercise of federal-court power over claims arising under the U.S. Constitution, an act of Congress, or a treaty<\/a>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

diversity jurisdiction<\/span><\/a> \u2013 the jurisdiction of a federal court over all civil actions involving<\/span> diversity of citizenship <\/a><\/strong>(wherein the parties involved are from different states (or foreign states))<\/em> and the matter in controversy exceeds the sum or value of $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs.<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Another excerpt from Represent Yourself in Court; How to Prepare & Try a Winning Cas<\/em>e<\/a> (7th ed.) by by Paul Bergman and Sara J. Berman (NOLO):<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0“Most lawsuits that can be filed in federal district court can also be filed in state court.\u00a0 Federal courts have “exclusive jurisdiction” only in very few kinds of federal question cases, such as lawsuits involving copyright violations, patent infrincement, and federal tax claims.\u00a0 This means that plaintiffs in all diversity jurisdiction cases and nearly all federal question cases have a choice of suing in federal r state court.\u00a0 Lawyers call the process of deciding which court is best for a plaintiff’s case “forum shopping.”\u00a0 A plaintiff who has a choice of courts may consider such factors as:<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n