What is Jurisdiction and why is it important?

Most people think of the word jurisdiction as denoting a place.  Police have jurisdiction over the particular city or state they work for.  As any old time gangster knew you rob only Non-Federal banks and only on the state border.  That way there is no way for the police to follow you over the line into the other state and the Feds couldn't do anything about it!

Before you run out an rob a bank, the laws have changed since those days and there are ample ways for police and federal agents to cross borders or get the help of the other state.  But of course one state has to ask the other for the help, and then they have to ask for the arrested person to be sent over the line into their state.  This is called extradition.  But I digress a bit here.

So Jurisdiction does have a geographic component to it.  But there is more to it than that.  The court must have the right to hear and make a decision about an issue and the right to deal with the people involved.  If you ask a housing court judge for a divorce you will be told you filed in the wrong place.  Even if that judge is the same one who the next day is over in divorce court!   There is usually a requirement that the people live where they bring the action or that the incident occurred there. 

So we have to be in the right place and the right court, and as a last matter there has to be something in question that the court can make a decision about.   This is the one that is causing a lot of problems lately.  I have a client who was married in the State of Connecticut but lives in Florida.  She and her wife want a divorce.  Not a problem, go into the court in Florida and tell them you have lived there long enough ( she has) and that you live in the right place, pay your fee to the right court and ask for a divorce.  Simple enough, but one wrinkle, She and her partner another woman got married in Connecticut where it is legal.   She live in Florida where they can't get married legally, so the Florida court can't hear the case!  She is stuck.  The Defense of Marriage Act, which is currently in the process of being struck down in court after court, states that Florida doesn't have to accept the marriage of to people in another state if they don't want to.

They don't live in Connecticut so Connecticut can't claim jurisdiction.

Stay tuned Friends, I haven't given up on this yet.