Jurisdiction

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Jurisdiction \Ju`ris*dic"tion\, n. [L. jurisdictio; jus, juris,
     right, law + dictio a saying, speaking: cf. OF. jurisdiction,
     F. juridiction. See {Just}, a., and {Diction}.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. (Law) The legal power, right, or authority of a particular
        court to hear and determine causes, to try criminals, or


        to execute justice; judicial authority over a cause or
        class of causes; as, certain suits or actions, or the
        cognizance of certain crimes, are within the jurisdiction
        of a particular court, that is, within the limits of its
        authority or commission.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. The authority of a sovereign power to govern or legislate;
        the right of making or enforcing laws; the power or right
        of exercising authority.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              To live exempt
              From Heaven's high jurisdiction.      --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              You wrought to be a legate; by which power
              You maim'd the jurisdiction of all bishops. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Sphere of authority; the limits within which any
        particular power may be exercised, or within which a
        government or a court has authority.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Jurisdiction, in its most general sense, is the power
           to make, declare, or apply the law. When confined to
           the judiciary department, it is what we denominate the
           judicial power, the right of administering justice
           through the laws, by the means which the laws have
           provided for that purpose. Jurisdiction is limited to
           place or territory, to persons, or to particular
           subjects. --Duponceau.
           [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  jurisdiction
       n 1: (law) the right and power to interpret and apply the law;
            "courts having jurisdiction in this district" [syn: {legal
            power}]
       2: in law; the territory within which power can be exercised

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  194 Moby Thesaurus words for "jurisdiction":
     accountability, acme, actionability, administration, agency,
     agentship, ambit, applicability, area, arena, ascendancy,
     assignment, auspices, authority, authorization, bailiwick,
     be-all and end-all, beat, blue ribbon, border, borderland, bossing,
     bounds, brevet, care, championship, charge, circle, circuit, claws,
     clutches, command, commission, commissioning, commitment, compass,
     confines, consignment, constitutional validity, constitutionalism,
     constitutionality, control, cure, custodianship, custody,
     delegated authority, delegation, demesne, department, deputation,
     devolution, devolvement, directorship, disposition, district,
     domain, domination, dominion, due process, effectiveness, embassy,
     empery, empire, empowerment, entrusting, entrustment, errand,
     executorship, exequatur, eye, factorship, field, first place,
     first prize, full power, governance, government, grasp, grip,
     gripe, guardianship, guidance, hand, hands, headship, hegemony,
     height, helm, hemisphere, highest, hold, imperium, influence,
     intendance, iron hand, judicial circuit, justice, justiciability,
     keeping, kingship, lawfulness, leadership, legal form,
     legal process, legalism, legality, legation, legitimacy,
     legitimateness, license, licitness, lieutenancy, limits, lordship,
     management, mandate, march, mastership, mastery, maximum, might,
     ministry, mission, most, ne plus ultra, new high, office, orb,
     orbit, oversight, pale, palms, paramountcy, pastorage, pastorate,
     pastorship, patronage, plenipotentiary power, power,
     power of attorney, power to act, precinct, prerogative, presidency,
     primacy, procuration, protectorship, province, proxy, purview, raj,
     range, reach, realm, record, regency, regentship, regnancy, reign,
     reins of government, responsibility, rightfulness, round, rule,
     safe hands, say, scope, sovereignty, sphere, sphere of influence,
     stewardship, strings, superintendence, supervision, supremacy,
     surveillance, sway, talons, task, territory, top spot, trust,
     trusteeship, tutelage, validity, vicarious authority, walk, ward,
     wardenship, wardship, warrant, watch and ward, wing, zenith
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  JURISDICTION, Practice. A power constitutionally conferred upon a judge or 
  magistrate, to take cognizance of, and decide causes according to law, and 
  to carry his sentence into execution. 6 Pet. 591; 9 John. 239. The tract of 
  land or district within which a judge or magistrate has jurisdiction, is 
  called his territory, and his power in relation to his territory is called 
  his territorial jurisdiction. 
       2. Every act of jurisdiction exercised by a judge without his 
  territory, either by pronouncing sentence or carrying it into execution, is 
  null. An inferior court has no jurisdiction beyond what is expressly 
  delegated. 1 Salk. 404, n.; Gilb. C. P. 188; 1 Saund. 73; 2 Lord Raym. 1311; 
  and see Bac. Ab. Courts, &c., C, et seq; Bac. Ab. Pleas, E 2. 
       3. Jurisdiction is original, when it is conferred on the court in the 
  first instance, which is called original jurisdiction; (q.v.) or it is 
  appellate, which is when an appeal is given from the judgment of another 
  court. Jurisdiction is also civil, where the subject-matter to be tried is 
  not of a criminal nature; or criminal, where the court is to punish crimes. 
  Some courts and magistrates have both civil and criminal jurisdiction. 
  Jurisdiction is also concurrent, exclusive, or assistant. Concurrent 
  jurisdiction is that which may be entertained by several courts. It is a 
  rule that in cases of concurrent jurisdictions, that which is first seized 
  of the case shall try it to the exclusion of the other. Exclusive 
  jurisdiction is that which has alone the power to try or determine the Suit, 
  action, or matter in dispute. assistant jurisdiction is that which is 
  afforded by a court of chancery, in aid of a court of law; as, for example, 
  by a bill of discovery, by the examination of witnesses de bene esse, or out 
  of the jurisdiction of the court; by the perpetuation of the testimony of 
  witnesses, and the like. 
       4. It is the law which gives jurisdiction; the consent of, parties, 
  cannot, therefore, confer it, in a matter which the law excludes. 1 N. & M. 
  192; 3 M'Cord, 280; 1 Call. 55; 1 J. S. Marsh. 476; 1 Bibb, 263; Cooke, 27; 
  Minor, 65; 3 Litt. 332; 6 Litt. 303; Kirby, 111; 1 Breese, 32; 2 Yerg. 441; 
  1 Const. R. 478. But where the court has jurisdiction of the matter, and the 
  defendant has some privilege which exempts him from the jurisdiction, he may 
  wave the privilege. 5 Cranch, 288; 1 Pet. 449; 8 Wheat. 699; 4 W. C. C. R. 
  84; 4 M'Cord, 79; 4 Mass. 593; Wright, 484. See Hardin, 448; 2 Wash. 213. 
       5. Courts of inferior jurisdiction must act within their jurisdiction, 
  and so it must appear upon the record. 5 Cranch, 172 Pet. C. C. R. 36; 4 
  Dall. 11; 2 Mass. 213; 4 Mass. 122; 8 Mass. 86; 11 Mass. 513; Pr. Dec. 380; 
  2 Verm. 329; 3 Verm. 114; 10 Conn. 514; 4 John. 292; 3 Yerg. 355; Walker, 
  75; 9 Cowen, 227; 5 Har. & John. 36; 1 Bailey, 459; 2 Bailey, 267. But the 
  legislature may, by a general or special law, provide otherwise. Pet. C. C. 
  R. 36. Vide 1 Salk. 414; Bac. Ab. Courts, &c., C. D; Id. Prerogative, E 6; 
  Merlin, Rep. h.t.; Ayl. Pat. 317, and the art. Competency. As to the force 
  of municipal law beyond the territorial jurisdiction of the state, see 
  Wheat. Intern. Law, part a, c. 2, Sec. 7, et seq.; Story, Confl. of Laws, c. 
  2; Huberus, lib. 1, t. 3; 13 Mass. R. 4 Pard. Dr. Com. part. 6, t. 7, c. 2, 
  Sec. 1; and the articles Conflict of Laws; Courts of the United States. See 
  generally, Bouv. Inst. Index, h.t.