Courts, Jurisdiction, and Civil Procedure
Jurisdiction
Subject-matter jurisdiction is the court's power over the type of dispute; personal jurisdiction is power over the parties; territorial jurisdiction concerns geography. Courts of general jurisdiction hear most claims; courts of limited jurisdiction (small claims, family, tax) hear only specified matters. Original jurisdiction hears a case first; appellate jurisdiction reviews decisions for errors of law (and sometimes fact). A judgment from a court lacking jurisdiction is void.
Civil procedure
Typical stages: pleadings (complaint and answer), service, discovery/disclosure, pre-trial motions, trial, judgment, enforcement. Key doctrines: standing (a concrete stake), ripeness and mootness, res judicata (final judgment bars relitigation of the same claim), collateral estoppel (bars relitigation of decided issues), limitation periods (time to sue), and burden of proof - preponderance of the evidence in civil cases, beyond reasonable doubt in criminal cases.
Traps
- Confusing venue (proper geographic location, usually waivable) with jurisdiction (power, not waivable).
- Mixing res judicata with collateral estoppel.
- Missing that removal or transfer does not create jurisdiction that did not exist.
- Treating limitation periods (bar the remedy) as identical to prescription or to procedural filing deadlines.
- Forgetting that default judgments still require proper service.
Rule of thumb
Ask: Does this court have power over this dispute, these parties, and this place? If any answer is no, the case belongs elsewhere.
Worked example
A plaintiff sues in a small-claims court for an amount above its statutory cap. The court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction; transfer to a court of general jurisdiction may be permitted, but judgment entered without jurisdiction would be void and unenforceable.