American Legal Systems and Procedures
Overview
This domain tests how a lawsuit moves: which court hears the case, what must be pleaded, how facts are developed, and how decisions are reviewed. CLEP questions concentrate on jurisdiction, pretrial procedure, and the standards for judgment.
Jurisdiction and venue
- Subject-matter jurisdiction: federal courts hear federal-question cases (28 U.S.C. §1331) and diversity cases where the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000 and the parties are completely diverse (§1332). Corporations are citizens of the state of incorporation and the state of principal place of business.
- Personal jurisdiction: the defendant must have minimum contacts with the forum such that suit comports with fair play and substantial justice (International Shoe). Long-arm statutes and Rule 4 service implement this.
- Venue is the proper district; a forum-selection clause or forum non conveniens may relocate the case.
- Removal: a defendant may remove from state to federal court when federal jurisdiction exists.
Procedure
- Pleadings: complaint, answer, counterclaim, crossclaim, and motions to dismiss (Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim). Default judgment follows failure to answer.
- Discovery: interrogatories, depositions, requests to produce, requests for admission, and expert disclosures. Privileged material is protected; courts sanction abuse.
- Summary judgment (Rule 56) requires no genuine dispute of material fact and entitlement to judgment as a matter of law.
- Trial: voir dire, opening statements, direct and cross-examination, motions for judgment as a matter of law, jury instructions, verdict.
- Appeal: generally only final judgments; questions of law are reviewed de novo, fact findings for clear error.
- ADR: negotiation, mediation (facilitated settlement), and arbitration (binding and enforceable under the FAA, with extremely limited judicial review).
Worked example
A Colorado buyer sues a Nevada seller for $90,000 over a breached contract to deliver goods. The parties are completely diverse and the amount exceeds $75,000, so a federal district court has diversity jurisdiction. If the seller had no contacts with Colorado, the buyer could still sue in Nevada; personal jurisdiction depends on contacts, not on where the plaintiff prefers to litigate.
Traps
- Diversity must be complete; one same-state party on each side destroys it.
- The amount in controversy excludes interest and costs.
- Subject-matter jurisdiction cannot be waived; personal jurisdiction can be.
- Arbitration awards are vacated only on narrow statutory grounds, not because the arbitrator made a legal error.