AAERT Certified Electronic Reporter (CER) Practice Test

Which term describes the specific types of cases a court is authorized to hear?

1. Jurisdiction - subject matter

2. Jurisdiction - geographic

3. Jurisdiction - limited

4. Jurisdiction - general

The correct answer is: Jurisdiction - subject matter

The term that describes the specific types of cases a court is authorized to hear is "Jurisdiction - subject matter." Subject matter jurisdiction refers to the authority of a court to hear cases of a particular category or type. Courts are established with the power to adjudicate specific types of disputes, which can range from criminal, civil, family law, and more, depending on the legal framework in place. When a court has subject matter jurisdiction, it means that the issues being presented fall within the legal parameters that the court is allowed to address. For example, a family court has subject matter jurisdiction over divorce and custody cases but does not have authority to hear criminal cases. Other types of jurisdiction, though important, do not specifically address the types of cases. Geographic jurisdiction relates to the location in which a court has authority to hear cases, while limited jurisdiction indicates that a court can only handle specific kinds of cases; however, it does not detail what those types of cases specifically are in the way that subject matter jurisdiction does. General jurisdiction, on the other hand, describes a court's ability to hear a wide range of cases without restrictions on subject matter but does not specify the types of cases as precisely as subject matter jurisdiction does.