Civil Procedure Chapter 1 Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards defining fundamental Civil Procedure terms, court structures, jurisdictional categories, and legal processes outlined in Chapter 1.

Subject Matter Jurisdiction

The court's authority to hear the specific type of dispute or category of case involved.

Personal Jurisdiction

The court's authority or power over the defendant, requiring them to appear and defend the lawsuit.

Venue

The proper geographic location or court within a court system for a lawsuit.

Original Jurisdiction

The authority of a court to hear a case in the first instance, where cases are initially filed, litigated, tried, and decided.

Complaint

The initial document filed by a plaintiff to begin litigation by stating claims against the defendant.

Answer

The defendant's response to the plaintiff's complaint, addressing allegations and raising applicable defenses.

Discovery

The pretrial procedure in which parties obtain and exchange relevant evidence before trial.

Intermediate Appellate Court

A court that reviews decisions made by trial courts before review by a court of final review; litigants ordinarily have a right to an initial appeal here.

State Supreme Court

The highest court in a state system, acting as the final authority on state-law questions, with review usually being discretionary.

Article III of the U.S. Constitution

The constitutional provision authorizing a separate federal judicial system, creating one Supreme Court and permitting Congress to establish inferior federal courts.

Judiciary Act of 1789

The federal legislation through which Congress first exercised its constitutional power to establish inferior federal courts.

United States District Courts

The principal trial courts of the federal judicial system, which exercise original jurisdiction across 94 federal judicial districts.

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

A non-geographic federal appellate court that hears specialized federal appeals, including matters involving patents, trademarks, and certain federal agencies.

Certiorari

The process by which the U.S. Supreme Court exercises discretionary review to agree to hear a lower court's decision.

Courts of Limited Jurisdiction

Courts, such as federal courts, that do not possess general authority to hear every lawsuit and can only exercise jurisdiction affirmatively authorized by law.

Federal Question Jurisdiction

Federal subject matter jurisdiction over qualifying cases arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States.

Diversity Jurisdiction

Federal subject matter jurisdiction over qualifying cases involving citizens of different states, assuming applicable statutory rules like amount-in-controversy are met.

Concurrent Jurisdiction

A condition where both state and federal court systems possess subject matter jurisdiction over the same type of case.

Exclusive Federal Jurisdiction

A statutory condition created by Congress where certain federal matters, such as patent and copyright cases, can only be heard in federal court.

Removal

The transfer of a qualifying lawsuit by a defendant from a state court to a federal court.

Forum Shopping

The strategic selection by attorneys among courts possessing proper jurisdiction based on perceived advantages such as procedural rules, speed, or local jury pools.

Appellate Jurisdiction

The authority of a court to review decisions previously rendered by lower courts.