Pennoyer primer

Later this week we'll take a look at out first Civil Procedure case, Pennoyer v. Neff. This case deals with the issue of personal jurisdiction. Let's take a quick look at subject matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction as explained by wikipedia.

Subject matter jurisdiction is "the authority of a court to hear cases relating to a specific subject matter." Civil courts hear civil cases. Family courts hear custody cases. SCOTUS hears constitutional cases. Judge Judy hears "I gave my mistress a key to my apartment and now all my Iron Eagle DVDs are gone" cases.

Personal jurisdiction is "the power of a court to render a judgment against a particular defendant." State courts do not have jurisdiction over nonresidents. The exception to this rule occurs when the individual is shown to have substantial dealings within the state.