Why Is the Concept of Jurisdiction Important in Criminal Cases?
Jurisdiction is defined as the power of a court to adjudicate cases, or the boundaries of the territory within which the court can exercise its power. This applies to whether a court has jurisdiction over an individual, a subject matter or the type of case it is. For example, a criminal court cannot render a judgment in a civil matter.
Other People Are Reading
-
Subject Matter
-
A court must have jurisdiction based on the subject matter of the case before it. Subject matter jurisdiction is granted by the U.S. Constitution or, in the case of state courts, state laws. For instance, the Constitution grants original jurisdiction to the U.S. Supreme Court in cases involving ambassadors, ministers, councils and cases in which a state is also a party to the case. States can hear any case not prohibited by state law or given exclusive jurisdiction to another court, such as bankruptcy, which can only be tried in federal courts.
Territorial
-
Territorial jurisdiction refers to whether the issue to be resolved occurred in a geographical area over which the court has jurisdiction. For example, in Illinois, federal courts are broken up into three districts; Northern, Southern and Central, each covering a specific geographical boundary. If an issue occurred in Chicago, it could not be tried by the Southern District office. It must be prosecuted by the Northern District office. Likewise, in Ohio, the Miami County Municipal Court, established by the Ohio General Assembly in 1901, cannot hear cases that originated outside of the county. Other restrictions on subject matter also apply to this municipal court.
-
Individual
-
A court has jurisdiction over an individual if he was served notice of legal proceedings within its territorial jurisdiction, if the person lives in that court's jurisdiction or maintains connections within that jurisdiction. For example, if you own a business within a court's territorial jurisdiction, the court may have jurisdiction over you even if you live in another jurisdiction.
Appeals
-
Appellate courts also are subject to jurisdictional regulations. They hear cases that have been decided by lower courts after one party believes the lower court erred in its ruling. In this situation, an appeal is filed with the appellate court and that court then has the power to reverse the lower court's ruling and send the case back to trial. However, it can only hear that case if it has jurisdiction over the court that rendered the original ruling.
Significance
-
Jurisdiction is an important concept in criminal justice because the courts are mandated to operate within a specific scope. Jurisdiction also assures that the principles of federalism and states' rights, granted by the Constitution, are not violated by the federal government.
-
