blawgazeen

General Jurisdiction

The district courts in the federal court system have original jurisdiction of actions involving a “federal question” (such as breach of a federal statute or regulation or a violation of the provisions of the Constitution of the United State) and of all criminal actions where the defendant is charged with a federal crime (a crime defined by Act of Congress). Some examples of federal questions or issues are admiralty, maritime, or prize cases; poor bankruptcy proceedings; interstate commerce and antitrust suits; patent, copyright, trademarks, and unfair competition lawsuits under federal acts; civil rights cases based on federal statutes or the Constitution of the United States; and those claims arising out of and under the federal labor acts.

Special federal courts are courts of “limited jurisdiciton’ and as a general proposition of law you must spell out, with statutory specificity, the authority of the court to hear the matter. These courts were created by federal statute.

Note: Failure to state and prove facts establishing jurisdiction may subject your claim to an automatic rejection at any given point of the proceeding up to and including the appellate hearing. As the legal assistant, therefore, you should read the United States Code, Title 28, Sections 1331 and 1332 and the citations for special federal courts. These U.S. Code sections set forth the conditions under which a case can be filed in federal courts and are the statutory authority giving the federal court jurisdiction to hear and determine the claim. See the annotated statutes to find cases interpreting the Act, such as 28 U.S.C.A 1331 and 1332.

Paralegal Practice and Procedure: A Practical Guide for the Legal Assitant, 3rd Edition

United States Code Title 28

Section 1331 – Federal question

      The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of all civil
    actions arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the
    United States.

Section 1332 – Diversity of citizenship; amount in controversy; costs

  (a) The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of all
    civil actions where the matter in controversy exceeds the sum or
    value of $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs, and is between -

        (1) citizens of different States;
        (2) citizens of a State and citizens or subjects of a foreign
      state;
        (3) citizens of different States and in which citizens or
      subjects of a foreign state are additional parties; and
        (4) a foreign state, defined in section 1603(a) of this title,
      as plaintiff and citizens of a State or of different States.

    For the purposes of this section, section 1335, and section 1441,
    an alien admitted to the United States for permanent residence
    shall be deemed a citizen of the State in which such alien is
    domiciled.
      (b) Except when express provision therefor is otherwise made in a
    statute of the United States, where the plaintiff who files the
    case originally in the Federal courts is finally adjudged to be
    entitled to recover less than the sum or value of $75,000, computed
    without regard to any setoff or counterclaim to which the defendant
    may be adjudged to be entitled, and exclusive of interest and
    costs, the district court may deny costs to the plaintiff and, in
    addition, may impose costs on the plaintiff.
      (c) For the purposes of this section and section 1441 of this
    title -
        (1) a corporation shall be deemed to be a citizen of any State
      by which it has been incorporated and of the State where it has
      its principal place of business, except that in any direct action
      against the insurer of a policy or contract of liability
      insurance, whether incorporated or unincorporated, to which
      action the insured is not joined as a party-defendant, such
      insurer shall be deemed a citizen of the State of which the
      insured is a citizen, as well as of any State by which the
      insurer has been incorporated and of the State where it has its
      principal place of business; and
        (2) the legal representative of the estate of a decedent shall
      be deemed to be a citizen only of the same State as the decedent,
      and the legal representative of an infant or incompetent shall be
      deemed to be a citizen only of the same State as the infant or
      incompetent.

      (d) The word "States", as used in this section, includes the
    Territories, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of
    Puerto Rico.