LEARNING OBJECTIVES
When you have completed this module, you should be able to:
- Describe the functions and structure of the primary trial and appellate courts in the state and federal court systems
- Compare the subject matter jurisdiction of the federal and state courts
- Explain personal jurisdiction and the application of “long arm” statutes
- Distinguish between
- state and federal subject matter jurisdiction
- personal and subject matter jurisdiction
- exclusive and concurrent jurisdiction
- Explain how “standing” and “venue” operate to limit jurisdiction
- Distinguish between “forum-selection” and “choice of law” clauses in contracts and explain why the parties might choose to include them.
General Resources: Chapters from Open Educational Resource Textbooks
Reading: The Court System, Chapter 2 from Lau, the Legal Environment of Business.
Reading: Courts and the Legal Process, Chapter 3 from Mayer, Government Regulation and the Legal Environment of Business
Readings & Videos: The Court System from Prof Jason Gordon’s Legal Environment of Business. This link takes you to an Introduction of the Court System, followed by selections on the federal and state courts, personal and subject matter jurisdiction, and many other topics.
Reading: Federal Court System (from Business Law Basics)
Reading: State Court Systems (from Business Law Basics)
The Judiciary
Website: U.S. Department of Justice website: Introduction to the Federal Court System
Website: The White House website: The Judicial Branch
Video: Article III for Dummies: The Judiciary Explained (8:00) Structure of the Judicial branch as prescribed by the Constitution.
Reading: States pick judges very differently from US Supreme Court appointments. This May 2021 article by a political science professor has a US map that identifies methods used by states to select their judges, including nominations by the governor, nonpartisan commissions, elections, or a combination. The author also discusses methods for making the selection process less political.
Structure of the Court System
Reading/Infographic: Structure of the Federal Courts
Infographic: Trial and Appeal (an easy-to-understand Infographic produced by iCivics that shows the paths that appeals can take from the nearly 86,000,000 cases filed in the state and federal trial courts up to the roughly 80 cases that the Supreme Court decides each year).
Video: The US Federal Court System (7:07)
Reading: Federal Courts Role and Structure
Map of the Federal Circuits of Appeal (geographic boundaries of each circuit)
Reading: State Courts
Website: Comparing Federal & State Courts This chart on the US Courts website compares the federal and state courts in terms of structure, selection of judges, and the types of cases each court can hear.
Video: Structure of the Court System (6:58) This Crash Course video by Craig Benzine provides a short, but in-depth examination of the court system, but if you’re unfamiliar with Crash Course videos, be prepared at how fast Craig talks! If you want to slow him down, go into Settings at the bottom of the video and change the playback speed.
Video: Difference between Federal Court and State Court (2:36)
Supreme Court
Reading: About the Supreme Court
Video: Supreme Court of the US Procedure (6:53) PBS Learn how the Supreme Court accepts and hears cases.
Video: Inside the Supreme Court (4:06) CNN A brief news report exploring the inside of the Supreme Court.
Jurisdiction of the Courts
Reading: Subject Matter Jurisdiction defined
Video: What is Diversity Jurisdiction? (3:21). This video by USLawEssentials introduces you to diversity subject matter jurisdiction of the federal courts.
Video: Federal Subject Matter Jurisdiction (2:55) Another, slightly older USLaw Essentials video that also explains what cases federal courts can hear and the jurisdiction they share with state courts.
Video: What is Personal Jurisdiction? (1:44). This USLawEssentials video explains how a court establishes personal jurisdiction over non-resident defendants by using the state’s long-arm statute. A longer and more detailed version of the video is What is Long-Arm Personal Jurisdiction? (3:38).
Video: What are minimum contacts? (4:59) This USLawEssentials video builds on the previous video to explain a constitutional limitation on long-arm statutes, i.e., that the non-resident defendant must have at least minimum contacts with the state where it is being sued. The narrator illustrates these rules with easy-to-understand examples.
Video: What is a state long-arm statute? (3:09). Prof Jason Gordon explains why a non-resident defendant must have at least minimum contacts with a state to be subject to personal jurisdiction under the state’s long-arm statute.
Reading: Personal Jurisdiction defined This definition of personal jurisdiction (The Free Dictionary) explains the “minimum contacts” requirement and its origin in the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in International Shoe Co. v Washington (1945).
Venue, Forum-Selection and Choice of Law Clauses
Reading: Definition of Venue
Reading: Explanation of Choice of Law clauses in contracts
Reading: What is a Forum Selection Clause? This reading both explains what a forum selection clause is and how it is different from a choice of laws clause.
Want to Learn More?
These materials allow you to enhance your understanding of this module by digging deeper into some of the topics and concepts:
Website: Georgia State-Wide Business Court. You can learn about the court’s history, how to file a case in the court, what cases are scheduled for oral arguments, where trials are heard, and a lot of additional information about court rules.
Statute: Georgia Long-Arm Statute. This statute sets out the grounds for a court’s exercise of personal jurisdiction over a non-resident defendant.
Statute: New York’s Long-Arm Statute. For another example, here’s the NY Statute that determines when a court has personal jurisdiction over what the statute calls “non-domiciliaries” (non-residents).
Website: U.S. Supreme Court Find out more about the Court and the current justices, search for and read Supreme Court opinions, listen to oral arguments before the Court or read transcripts of the arguments, read briefs submitted to the Court, and view photographs of the Supreme Court building.
Reading: The Tiny State Whose Laws Affect Workers Everywhere (The Atlantic, 2016) This article opens with the observation that Delaware is the “center of the business universe.” Why? The combination of favorable corporation laws and the Delaware Chancery Court explains why so many businesses are incorporated in Delaware.
Website: Delaware Chancery Court, the leading business court in the U.S.
Video: History of the Supreme Court (13:00) An in-depth exploration into the history of the Supreme Court.
Video: Personal Jurisdiction: Part 1 (3:26) Understand when courts can exercise power over an individual.
Video: Personal Jurisdiction: Part 2 (6:37) Learn the different elements of personal jurisdiction.
Video: In Rem and Quasi In Rem Jurisdiction (3:44) Courts apply these two concepts when considering personal jurisdiction.