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.