Chapter 2 - Courts and Jurisdiction
Chapter 2 - Courts and Jurisdiction MGT 2106
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This 3 page Class Notes was uploaded by Megan Koh on Friday September 9, 2016. The Class Notes belongs to MGT 2106 at Georgia Institute of Technology taught by Karie Denise Davis-Nozemack in Fall 2016. Since its upload, it has received 3 views. For similar materials see Legal Aspects of Business in Business Administration at Georgia Institute of Technology.
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Date Created: 09/09/16
Chapter 2: Courts and Jurisdiction Megan Koh State Court Systems • State Court - is one of the court systems given to each individual state, Washington DC, and each territory of the United States. These court systems include the following courts: 1. Limited Jurisdiction Trial Court (Inferior Trial Court) - is a court that hears matters of a specialized or limited nature. A. This includes traﬃc courts, juvenile courts, probate courts, family law courts, etc. B. Many states have also created small claim courts. C. Small Claim Courts - hear civil cases involving small dollar amounts, i.e. around less than $5,000. 2. General Jurisdiction Trial Court (Court of Record) - is a court that hears cases of a general nature that is not within the jurisdiction of limited-jurisdiction trial courts. Testimony and evidence at trial are recorded and stored for future reference. 3. Intermediate Appellate Court - is a court that hears appeals from trial courts. 4. Highest State Court (State Supreme Court) - is the highest state court in a state court system, which hears appeals from intermediate appellate state courts and certain trial courts. • Most business cases are heard by Limited Jurisdiction Trial Courts. A notable exception is Delaware, which has its own court for business litigations. Federal Court Systems • Article III of the U.S. Constitution provides that the federal government’s judicial power is vested in one “Supreme Court”. • Special Federal Courts - are federal courts that hear matters of specialized or limited jurisdiction. These include: 1. U.S. Tax Court - hears cases that involve federal tax laws. 2. U.S. Court of Federal Claims - hears cases brought against the United States. 3. U.S. Court of International Trade - handles cases that involve tariﬀs and international trade disputes. 4. U.S. Bankruptcy Court - hears cases that involve federal bankruptcy laws. 5. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces - exercises appellate jurisdiction over members of the armed services. 6. U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims - exercises jurisdiction over decisions of the Department of Veterans Aﬀairs. • U.S. District Courts - are the federal court system’s trial courts of general jurisdiction. • District - is the geographical area served by each court. • U.S. Court of Appeals - are the federal court system’s intermediate appellate courts. • Circuit - is the geographical area served by each court. U.S. District of Columbia Circuit - is the 12th circuit court, located in Washington DC. • • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit - is a U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington DC that has special appellate jurisdiction to review the decisions of the Court of Federal Claims, the Patent and Trademark Oﬃce, and the Court of International Trade. Supreme Court of the United States Chapter 2: Courts and Jurisdiction Megan Koh Supreme Court of the United States (U.S. Supreme Court) - is the highest court in the • United States, located in Washington DC. The Supreme Court was created by Article III of the U.S. Constitution. • Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court - is a justice appointed by the president who is responsible for the administration of the Court. • Associate Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court - include the other eight justices. • Petition for Certiorari - is a petition asking the Supreme Court to hear a case. • Types of Decisions issued by the Supreme Court: 1. Unanimous Decision - is if all the justices voting agree as to the outcome and reasoning used to decide a case. 2. Majority Decision - is if a majority of the justices agree to the outcome and reasoning used to decide a case. 3. Plurality Decision - is if a majority of the justices agree as to the outcome of a case but not as to the reasoning for reaching the outcome. 4. Tie Decision - is when not all nine justices are present and the votes are split in half. In such incidences, the lower court decision is aﬃrmed. • Conjuring Opinion - is when a justice agrees with the outcome of a case but not the reason proﬀered by other justices. • Dissenting Opinion - is when a justice disagrees with the outcome of a case and desires to set forth the reasons for his or her dissent. • Rule of Four- is the rule that says at least four justices must agree on any given case to review for the case to be heard in court. Jurisdiction of Federal and State Courts • Federal courts have limited jurisdiction to hear cases involving a federal question or diversity of citizenship. These topics include: 1. Federal Question Case - is a case arising under the U.S. Constitution, treaties, or federal statues and regulations. 2. Diversity of Citizenship - is a means for bringing a lawsuit in federal court that involves a nonfederal question if the parties are (1) citizens of diﬀerent states or (2) a citizen of a state and a citizen or subject of a foreign country. Exclusive Jurisdiction - is the power federal courts have to hear cases involving federal • crimes, antitrust, bankruptcy, patent and copyright, suits against the United States, and most admiralty cases. • Concurrent Jurisdiction - is the power state courts have (with federal courts) to hear cases involving diversity of citizenship and federal questions over which federal courts do not have exclusive jurisdiction. Types of Jurisdiction 1. In Personam Jurisdiction (Personal Jurisdiction) - is when a court has jurisdiction over the parties to the lawsuit. The plaintiﬀ submits to the jurisdiction of the court by ﬁling the lawsuit there and therefore does not need personal jurisdiction documents. The court must also have in personam jurisdiction over the defendant via service of process. A. Service of process - is a summons being served on a defendant to obtain personal jurisdiction over him or her. Chapter 2: Courts and Jurisdiction Megan Koh 2. In Rem Jurisdiction (Subject Matter Jurisdiction) - is when a court has jurisdiction to hear and decide a case because it has jurisdiction over the property at issue in the lawsuit (e.g. real property located in the state). 3. Quasi In Rem Jurisdiction (Attachment Jurisdiction) - is when a plaintiﬀ who obtains a judgment against a defendant in one state may utilize the court system of another state to attach property of the defendant that is located in the second stateBasically, this is extra revenge. Contract Options • Venue- is a concept that requires lawsuits to be heard by the court with jurisdiction that is nearest the location in which the incident occurred or where the parties reside. • Change of Venue - maybe be requested so that a more impartial jury can be found when pretrial publicity gives rise to prejudice in jurors. • Forum Shopping - is a frowned-upon practice wherein the defendant looks for a favorable court without a valid reason through Change of Venue. • Forum-Selection Clause (Choice-of-Forum Clause) - is a contract provision that designates a certain court to hear any dispute concerning nonperformance of the contract. • Choice-of-Law Clause - is a contract provision that designates a certain state’s or country’s law that will be applied in any dispute concerning nonperformance of the contract. Other Deﬁnitions • Standing to Sue - is a requirement for case hearings wherein the plaintiﬀ must have some stake in the outcome of a lawsuit. For example, Linda’s friend Jon is injured in an accident caused by Sam. Jon refuses to sue. Linda cannot sue for Jon because she does not have an interest in the result of the case. • Long-Arm Statute - is a statute that extends a state’s jurisdiction to nonresidents who were not served a summons within the state. Long-Arm jurisdiction is generally permitted over nonresidents who have (1) committed torts within the state, (2), entered into a contract either in the state or that aﬀects the state and allegedly breached the contract, or (3) transacted other business in the state that allegedly caused injury to another person. • Minimum Contact - must be had by the nonresident defendant in the civil lawsuit, such that the maintenance of that lawsuit in that state does not oﬀend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice. • Full Faith and Credit Clause - found in Article IV, Section I of the U.S. Constitution says that a judgment of a court of one state must be given “full faith and credit” by the courts of another state. • Zippo Manufacturing Company v. Zippo Dot Com, Inc. - is an important case that established a test for determining when a court has jurisdiction over the owner of operator of an interactive, semi-interactive, or passive website. Lecture Notes • If a decision is made by Circuit A, Circuit B will consider the precedent set forth by Circuit A but will not necessarily follow the ruling. • If there is state diversity conﬂict, cases can be taken to federal court. • Default judgment is what happens if the defendant does not appear in response to an in personam summons.
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