Two types of jurisdiction in all courts are which of the following?

• A. Personal and territorial
• B. Appellate and original
• C. General and limited
• D. Subject matter and territorial

Answer: (D)

Jurisdiction in courts comes from two essential dimensions: what kinds of cases the court can decide, and the geographic area within which it can exercise that power. Subject matter jurisdiction is the authority to hear the particular type of case—civil, criminal, family, probate, etc.—because each court is limited to certain kinds of matters. Territorial jurisdiction is the geographic reach of the court’s authority; the case must arise within that designated area for the court to hear it. Personal jurisdiction (over the parties) matters in practice, but the two fundamental kinds asked about are subject matter and territorial, since together they determine whether a court may initially hear and decide a case.