The main difference between jurisdiction and venue is that jurisdiction is a territory within which a court may properly exercise its power, while a venue is a place where a case should be filed and heard.
Before you file a lawsuit, you have to know the meaning of the two legal words, jurisdiction and venue. This will help you to understand which court has the power to hear your case and where you should file a case. However, in vernacular language, there is not much of a difference between jurisdiction and venue.
Key Areas Covered
1. What is Jurisdiction
– Definition, Features
2. What is Venue
– Definition, Features
3. Difference Between Jurisdiction and Venue
– Comparison of Key Differences
Key Terms
Jurisdiction, Venue, Lawsuit, Personal Jurisdiction, Subject Matter Jurisdiction
What is Jurisdiction
A jurisdiction is a territory within which a court may properly exercise its power. One of the most basic questions in law is whether a particular court has jurisdiction to preside over a particular case. Also, there are two main parts to a jurisdiction: personal jurisdiction and subject matter jurisdiction. First, the court must have power over the defendant that is being sued. Thus, this is personal jurisdiction. The court must also have the power to resolve the legal issues in the case. Hence, this is subject matter jurisdiction.
Personal Jurisdiction
A state court has personal jurisdiction over all individuals who are citizens of that state and over all businesses that conduct business in that state. If an accident or a crime occurred in a certain state, then the state court also has jurisdiction over that case. But if the plaintiff wants to file a lawsuit in another state, he or she may have to prove why that jurisdiction is legal proper.
Subject Matter Jurisdiction
Subject matter jurisdiction involves the choice between state and federal courts. You can file most cases in state courts unless they involve federal law. The federal court may handle the cases of civil rights cases, federal tax cases, patent infringement cases, and other legal areas where the federal law regulates.
What is Venue
In legalese, a venue is a place where a case should be filed and heard. Legally, there is no right venue to hear a case. There are many possible venue options for a plaintiff. In civil cases, the venue is typically the county or district where the principal defendant resides or regularly conducts business (in cases related to business). The venue can also be the area where the concerned parties signed a contract or breached it or where an accident took place. In most cases, parties may agree to a different venue for various reasons – for example; most witnesses might be residing in a specific area. In some cases, a defendant might object to the plaintiff’s choice of a venue if that venue is too far from his/her location. In criminal cases, the venue is usually the county or district where the crime was committed.
When a plaintiff is filing a case, there can be more than one venue option. For instance, if the case is about a car accident, the other driver might live in one location while the owner of the car might live in another location, and the accident may have happened in a faraway location from both these. In this case, there are three venue options the plaintiff can choose from.
Difference Between Jurisdiction and Venue
Definition
A jurisdiction is a territory within which a court may properly exercise its power, while a venue is a place where a case should be filed and heard.
Nature
Jurisdiction involves whether the court has power over the parties, while the venue involves the city, state, or country of the lawsuit.
Conclusion
The main difference between jurisdiction and venue is that jurisdiction is a territory within which a court may properly exercise its power, while a venue is a place where a case should be filed and heard.
Reference:
1. “Jurisdiction and Venue for Lawsuits.” Justia, 18 Oct. 2021.
2. “Venue Law and Legal.” Definitions | USLegal, Inc.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Judge-court-gavel-administration” (CC0) via Pixabay
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