Legal Concepts Worksheet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Legal Concepts Worksheet - Essay Example Federal courts - supercede jurisdiction over state courts. In order to file a lawsuit in federal court there must be a federal question or diversity in jurisdiction. A state action will not lie in federal court. Decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court - The US supreme court trumps all courts. It is the law of the land and all courts bow to it. The decisions of the supreme court guide all courts in the nation on how to rule on a specific issue. A judge must not rule in a manner that is contra to established supreme court law. Judicial restraint - The court will restrain itself from ruling on areas not with in the ambit of the legal question before them. However sometimes, we can take a guess on their stance on a particular issue by reading the dissenting opinion, stare decisis or dicta. Subject-matter jurisdiction - the court must have the authority to decide a particular issue. For example, the small claims courts in New York cannot have jurisdiction in a matter that requests over three thousand in damages. Personal jurisdiction - the defendant must either reside, or live in the state that the action is commenced in or there is no jurisdiction. When this happens, you start to look at long arm jurisdiction possibilities. Class-action suits - an action that is brought by a class of people. This does not mean that a group of friends get together to bring a suit.