JURISDICTION

1. power to hear and determine a case; may be established and described with reference to a particular subject or to parties in a particular category. In addition to power to adjudicate, a valid exercise of jurisdiction requires fair notice and opportunity for affected parties to be heard. 2. the geographic or political entity govened by a particular legal system or body of laws. The word "jurisdiction" is also used to refer to particular legal systems, as in "the law varies in different jurisdictions", and in the sense of territory (coupled with authority to reach conduct within the territory), as in "within the jurisdiction of X state". APPELLATE JURISDICTION: the power vested in a superior tribunal to correct legal errors of inferior tribunals and to revise their judgments accordingly. CONCURRENT JURISDICTION: equal jurisdiction; jurisdiction exercisable by different courts at the same time, over the same subject matter and within the same territory, so that litigants may, in the first intance, resort to either court. DIVERSITY JURISDICTION: jurisdiction that federal courts have when the opposing parties are from different states IN PERSONAM JURISDICTION: jurisdiction over the person of the defendant; necessary where the action is in personam. SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION: the competency of the court to hear and determine a particular category of cases. see ancillary jurisdiction; federal question jurisdiction; limited jurisdiction; original jurisdiction; pendent jurisdiction; territorial jurisdiction; territorial jurisdiction; title jurisdiction. Source: Barron's Dictionary of Legal Terms, Steven H. Gifis, 5th Edition; © 2016