Practical Law Glossary Item 3-501-7659 (Approx. 3 pages)
Glossary
Subject Matter Jurisdiction
A court's power to preside over a particular type of case. Each state usually has at least one state court with subject matter jurisdiction over all types of cases brought in that state. By contrast, federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, meaning they only have subject matter jurisdiction over certain types of cases (28 U.S.C. §§ 1330-1369).