Yeazell, p. 6-12: “Subject Matter Jurisdiction” (including Gordon v. Steele)

 

Not every court can hear every kind of case.

 

Some are courts of general jurisdiction, which can hear basically any kind of case except if a statute or legal precedent says they can’t.

 

Some are courts of limited jurisdiction, so called because the statutes that set them up say exactly what kind of cases they are limited to.

 

Every state has at least one court of general jurisdiction.  On the other hand, federal courts are limited by the Constitution.  It’s up to Congress to decide just how narrow to make the jurisdiction of federal courts, but it can’t be any wider than what the Constitution says.

 

The two main cases where a federal court has jurisdiction are (1) those that are about federal “stuff” like the Constitution or federal laws, or (2) cases that are between citizens of different states and involve over $75,000 (currently) up for grabs.

 

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