United States Federal civil procedure doctrines
Justiciability
Advisory opinions
Standing  · Ripeness  · Mootness
Political questions
Jurisdiction
* Subject-matter jurisdiction:
Federal question jurisdiction
Diversity jurisdiction
Removal jurisdiction
Amount in controversy
* Personal jurisdiction:
Jurisdiction in rem
Minimum contacts
Federalism
Erie doctrine  · Abstention
Sovereign immunity  · Abrogation
Rooker-Feldman doctrine
Adequate and independent state ground
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Justiciability is a term used in civil procedure to describe whether a dispute is capable of being settled by a court of law. Although separate from jurisdiction, recent Supreme Court opinions have indicated that certain aspects of justiciability are closely tied to, if not coextensive with, questions of jurisdiction. See Lewis v. Casey, 518 U.S. 343, 347 n.1 (1996); United States v. Hays, 515 U.S. 737, 742 (1995). Image File history File links Seal_of_the_United_States_Supreme_Court. ... This law-related article does not cite its references or sources. ... Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the process that courts will follow when hearing cases of a civil nature (a civil action). These rules govern how a lawsuit or case may be commenced, what kind of service of process is required, the types of pleadings or... An advisory opinion, in civil procedure, is an opinion issued by a court that does not have the effect of resolving a specific legal case, but merely advises on the constitutionality or interpretation of a law. ... In law, standing or locus standi is the ability of a party to demonstrate to the court sufficient connection to and harm from the law or action challenged. ... In law, ripeness refers to the readiness of a case for litigation; for example, if a law of ambiguous quality has been enacted but never applied, a case challenging that law lacks the ripeness necessary for a decision. ... This article is about the law term moot. ... In United States law, a ruling that a matter in controversy is a political question is a statement by a federal court, declining to rule in a case because: 1) the U.S. Constitution has committed decision-making on this subject to another branch of the federal government; 2) there... In law, jurisdiction from the Latin jus, juris meaning law and dicere meaning to speak, is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted body or to a person to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility. ... Subject matter jurisdiction is a legal term used in civil procedure to indicate that a case must be entered in the proper court of law based on the nature of the claim. ... Federal question jurisdiction is a term used in the United States law of civil procedure to refer to the situation in which a United States federal court has subject matter jurisdiction to hear a civil case because the plaintiff has alleged a violation of the Constitution, laws, or treaties of... Diversity jurisdiction is a term used in civil procedure to refer to the situation in which a United States district court has subject matter jurisdiction to hear a civil case because the parties are diverse, meaning that they come from different states. ... In the United States, removal jurisdiction refers to the power of a defendant to move a lawsuit filed in state court to the Federal district court of the original courts district. ... Amount in controversy (sometimes called jurisdictional amount) is a term used in United States civil procedure to denote a requirement that persons seeking to bring a lawsuit in a particular court must be suing for a certain minimum amount before that court may hear the case. ... Personal jurisdiction, jurisdiction of (or over) the person, or jurisdiction in personam is the power of a court to require a party (usually the defendant) or a witness to come before the court. ... Jurisdiction in rem (Latin, power about or against the thing) is a legal term describing the power a court may exercise over property (either real or personal) or a status against a person over whom the court does not have in personam jurisdiction. Jurisdiction in rem assumes the property or... Minimum contacts is a term used in the United States law of civil procedure to determine when it is appropriate for a court in one state to assert in personam jurisdiction (i. ... Federalism is the idea of a group or body of members that are bound together (latin: foedus, covenant) with a governing representative head. ... The Erie doctrine is a fundamental legal doctrine of Civil procedure in the American legal system that stems from Supreme court Justice Louis Brandeis watershed opinion in the landmark decision of Erie Railroad Co. ... An abstention doctrine is any one of several doctrines that a United States federal court might (or in some cases must) apply to refuse to hear a case, when hearing the case would potentially intrude upon the powers of the state courts. ... Sovereign immunity or crown immunity is a type of immunity that, in common law jurisdictions traces its origins from early English law. ... The abrogation doctrine is a doctrine in United States constitutional law which permits the U.S. Congress to allow lawsuits seeking monetary damages against individual U.S. states, so long as this is usually done pursuant to a constitutional limitation on the power of the states. ... The Rooker-Feldman doctrine is a rule of civil procedure enunciated by the United States Supreme Court in two cases, Rooker v. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the process that courts will follow when hearing cases of a civil nature (a civil action). These rules govern how a lawsuit or case may be commenced, what kind of service of process is required, the types of pleadings or... A court is an official, public forum which a sovereign establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. ... See also Wikipedias Law Portal. ... Key concepts in general federal law in the USA (other countries using a federal system differ), at all court levels, include standing and the Case or Controversy Requirement. ... // Case citation is the system used in common law countries such as the United States, England and Wales, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and India to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters or law reports. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... // Case citation is the system used in common law countries such as the United States, England and Wales, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and India to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters or law reports. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In order for an issue to be justiciable by a United States federal court, all of the following conditions must be met: The United States federal courts are the system of courts organized under the Constitution and laws of the federal government of the United States. ...

• There must be an actual controversy between the parties - see Muskrat v. United States, 219 U.S. 346 (1911)
  • This means that the parties can not agree to a lawsuit where both parties seek a particular judgment from the court; rather, the parties have to each be seeking a different outcome.
• The plaintiff(s) must have standing to sue - see Allen v. Wright, 468 U.S. 737 (1984)
  • In order to have standing:
    • the plaintiff must be a party who has been or will be harmed if no remedy is provided
    • the defendant must be a party to whom the harm can be traced; and
    • the court must have the ability to provide a remedy that will relieve the harm to the plaintiff
  • Note that standing is conferred very narrowly when the plaintiff's alleged harm results only from being a taxpayer
• The question must be neither unripe nor moot - see Poe v. Ullman, 367 U.S. 497 (1961); DeFunis v. Odegaard, 416 U.S. 312 (1974)
  • An unripe question is one for which there is not yet at least a threatened injury to the plaintiff.
  • A moot question is one for which the potential for an injury to occur has ceased to exist.
• The court must not be asked to resolve a political question - see Nixon v. United States, 506 U.S. 224 (1993)
  • Political questions involve matters where there is
    • "a textually demonstrable constitutional commitment of the issue to a coordinate political department" (meaning that the Constitution requires another branch of government to resolve questions regarding the issue); or
    • "a lack of judicially discoverable and manageable standards for resolving it"
  • Political questions include such things as whether the nation is 'at war' with another country, or whether the U.S. Senate has properly "tried" an impeached federal officer.

If the case fails to meet any of these requirements, the court can not and will not hear it. The case or controversy clause of Article III of the United States Constitution has been deemed to impose a requirement that United States federal courts are not permitted to hear cases that do not pose an actual controversy - that is, an actual dispute between adverse parties which is capable of... Holding Article III of the Constitution limits the jurisdiction of the Court to actual controversies between adverse parties; there is no controversy or adversity where an interested party colludes with a disinterested party to bring the suit solely for the purpose of determining the constitutionality of a particular act of... // Case citation is the system used in common law countries such as the United States, England and Wales, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and India to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters or law reports. ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... A plaintiff, also known as a claimant or complainant, is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an action) before a court. ... In law, standing or locus standi is the ability of a party to demonstrate to the court sufficient connection to and harm from the law or action challenged. ... Allen v. ... // Case citation is the system used in common law countries such as the United States, England and Wales, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and India to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters or law reports. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute. ... In law, ripeness refers to the readiness of a case for litigation; for example, if a law of ambiguous quality has been enacted but never applied, a case challenging that law lacks the ripeness necessary for a decision. ... This article is about the law term moot. ... Holding Connecticut law barring possession of birth control not ripe for constitutional challenge because of lack of enforcement. ... // Case citation is the system used in common law countries such as the United States, England and Wales, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and India to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters or law reports. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... Holding --- Court membership Case opinions Laws applied --- DeFunis v. ... // Case citation is the system used in common law countries such as the United States, England and Wales, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and India to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters or law reports. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... In United States law, a ruling that a matter in controversy is a political question is a statement by a federal court, declining to rule in a case because: 1) the U.S. Constitution has committed decision-making on this subject to another branch of the federal government; 2) there... Holding --- Court membership Case opinions Laws applied U.S. Const. ... // Case citation is the system used in common law countries such as the United States, England and Wales, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and India to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters or law reports. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... The United States Senate is the upper house of the U.S. Congress, smaller than the United States House of Representatives. ... Depiction of the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, then President of the United States, in 1868. ...

State courts tend to require a similar set of circumstances, although some states permit their courts to give advisory opinions on questions of law, even though there may be no actual dispute between parties to resolve. An advisory opinion, in civil procedure, is an opinion issued by a court that does not have the effect of resolving a specific legal case, but merely advises on the constitutionality or interpretation of a law. ...