Jurisdiction
The power of a court to act.
What is jurisdiction?
Researchers use this pair of source types- one offering firsthand evidence and the other providing interpretation.
What are primary and secondary sources?
This is the printed or electronic tool that lists statutes or regulations in numerical or subject order.
What is a code?
This type of authority must be followed by lower courts in the same jurisdiction.
What is binding authority?
This section states the legal issue or question the court must decide.
What is the issue?
The type of jurisdiction that allows a case to be brought in more than one court.
What is concurrent jurisdiction?
Material that explains, analyzes, or critiques primary legal sources like statutes and court cases.
What are secondary sources?
In legal research, these specialized dictionaries explain terms of art used in statutes, cases, and regulations.
What are legal dictionaries?
Legal authorities like law review articles and decisions from other jurisdictions fall into this category.
What is non-binding authority?
This portion of the opinion announces the court’s final answer to the legal question and what will happen to the parties.
What is the conclusion?
A state court must have this type of jurisdiction over both the defendant and the subject matter before the case can proceed.
What is personal and subject-matter jurisdiction?
A foundational legal document, created by a governmental entity, that establishes the "law" itself.
What is a primary source?
In a law library, this type of index organizes cases and statutes by topic rather than by name or citation.
What is a digest?
A district court must follow precedent from which court: its own circuit or another circuit?
What is it's own circuit?
This is the court’s ruling on the specific legal question presented — the part you must apply in future cases.
What is the holding?
This type of jurisdiction means only federal courts can hear the case.
What is exclusive federal jurisdiction?
The secondary source that provides brief explanations and background information on many subjects.
What is an encyclopedia?
In modern law libraries, this electronic system allows you to search for cases, statutes, and law review articles online.
What is a legal research database?
A trial court ruling in one state used in another state’s court would be classified as this.
What is non-binding authority?
This section of a court opinion explains the background of the dispute and how the case arrived before the court.
What is the procedural history?
This court hears case involving violations of U.S. federal laws, including crimes that cross state lines.
What is a U.S. District Court?
True or False:
Secondary sources always use information from primary sources.
What is true?
True or False:
Shepardizing is used to determine if a case is still good law and to find later cases that have cited it.
True
True or False:
Federal statutes are considered binding authority on both federal and state courts.
True
This part disagrees with the majority’s conclusion and explains why the judge thinks the court got it wrong.
What is a dissenting opinion?