In the U.S., what does it precisely mean that federal courts have limited jurisdiction?

Question

In the U.S., what does it precisely mean that federal courts have limited jurisdiction? I ask because I'm unsure whether they can hear cases in which the president or the Congress are involved.

Answer 1

The term "jurisdiction" means "the power to make official legal decisions and judgements". When a court has limited jurisdiction, that court can only hear certain types of cases. For example, a bankruptcy court can normally only hear bankruptcy cases, and thus has limited jurisdiction.

Federal courts have limited jurisdiction in that only certain types of cases can be heard in them:

• the constitutionality of a law
• those involving U.S. (federal) law and treaties
• those about ambassadors and public ministers
• disputes between states
• admiralty law (i.e., maritime law)
• bankruptcy cases

To determine whether a case can be heard or not (assuming an actual case has been initiated by some party), the following must apply:

• the plaintiff must have "standing", which means that the plaintiff must have been aggrieved or legally harmed in some way by the defendant
• The court must have the authority to actually do something to resolve the case
• the plaintiff must be experiencing ongoing harm or the case is otherwise somehow unresolved; i.e., the case can't be resolved and then dragged back through court

There is a very readable article on the US Courts website covering more details about jurisdiction (and was the source for my lists above).