Jurisdiction of State and Federal Courts
The Jurisdiction defines the major difference between the federal and state courts in the USA. Here the Jurisdiction means the kinds of cases on them they work on.
- State courts have broad jurisdiction. They cover the cases such as robberies, traffic violations, broken contracts, and family disputes.
- Exceptions of the state courts may include lawsuits against the United States and specific federal laws like criminal, antitrust, bankruptcy, patent, copyright, and some maritime cases.
- Federal court jurisdiction is limited to cases listed in the Constitution and specified by Congress.
- Federal courts works on the cases involving the United States, violations of the U.S. Constitution or federal laws (federal-question jurisdiction), cases between citizens of different states with a controversy exceeding $75,000 (diversity jurisdiction), and bankruptcy, copyright, patent, and maritime law cases.
- In certain situations, both federal and state courts may have same jurisdiction. Some parties are allowed to choose whether to pursue their case in state court or federal court.
Read More: Difference Between Common Law and Civil Law
Difference between federal and state courts
Difference between federal and state courts: In the United States of America, the federal courts interpret the Constitution and federal laws. On the other hand, the state courts interpret state laws and constitutions. State courts are the courts of general jurisdiction. It means they hear all the cases which are not specifically assigned to the federal courts. The federal courts are the supreme judiciary body in the USA that resolves the conflicts between two or more provinces.
In this article, we are going to discuss the difference between federal and state courts of the USA in detail with their thorough specifications and powers.
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