Jurisdiction refers to which of the following?

• A. The authority of a court to try certain types of cases (or within a geographical area)
• B. A civil proceeding for infant settlement
• C. A pending lawsuit
• D. A notice of lis pendens

Answer: (A)

Jurisdiction is the authority of a court to hear and decide a case. It covers both the kinds of cases a court can handle (subject matter jurisdiction) and the geographic or personal reach the court has over the parties or the dispute. That’s why the option describing the court’s power to try certain types of cases or to operate within a particular geographical area is correct. The other items refer to different concepts: a civil proceeding for infant settlement is a specific type of action involving a minor; a pending lawsuit is simply a case that has been filed and is awaiting resolution; a notice of lis pendens is a filing that gives notice of a property-related lawsuit, not a statement about a court’s jurisdiction.