Jurisdiction refers to a court’s authority to hear a case and render an opinion. Various types of jurisdiction exist within the federal and state court systems.
Original jurisdiction refers to the authority of a court to hear an initial case. When a court exercises original jurisdiction, it considers questions of fact and questions of law. In other words, the court must first determine the facts of the case, or what happened; then, it must determine how the law applies in that particular case.
Appellate jurisdiction refers to the authority of a court to review decisions made by lower courts. This occurs when one of the parties in the case appeals the case, or requests for a higher court to review the legal decision of a lower court. When a court exercises appellate jurisdiction, it considers questions of law. (i.e., whether the lower court correctly interpreted and applied the appropriate legal provisions in rendering its judgment). If there are questions about the facts of the case, the appellate court will remand the case, or send the case back to the lower court for further action (in this case, to review the facts).
Subject matter jurisdiction refers to the authority of a court to hear cases relating to a specific type of claim. The video below discusses subject matter jurisdiction in more detail, focusing predominantly on federal subject matter jurisdiction.
Regional jurisdiction refers to the authority of a court to hear a case based on where the case originated. Generally speaking, higher courts have broader regional jurisdiction than intermediate courts, and intermediate courts have broader regional jurisdiction than lower courts within the judicial hierarchy.
Sometimes, due to the type of claim involved in a case, more than one court may exercise overlapping original or appellate jurisdiction. In this situation, the courts are said to have concurrent jurisdiction. For example, federal criminal law sometimes overlaps with state criminal law; if someone is accused of committing a crime that falls into this overlap between federal and state criminal law statutes, the case may be initially heard in either a state court or a federal district court. Exclusive jurisdiction, on the other hand, refers to the sole authority to hear a specific type of case.