Federal jurisdiction can rest on subject matter, party identity, or party citizenship.

Evidence

The bases for exercising federal jurisdiction are diverse and complex. The subject matter of a case, the identity of the parties to a case, or the citizenship of those parties all may provide a basis for federal courts to hear a case. For example, a job applicant may sue an employer for discrimination in federal court (1) if the statute securing the right against employment discrimination is a federal statute, or (2) if the employer is the federal government or one of its agencies, or (3) if the employer and the job applicant are citizens of different states. If the job applicant sues in a state court, and the employer and job applicant are citizens of different states, the employer can have the case transferred to a federal district court on the basis of diversity of citizenship. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 287

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the three distinct bases on which federal courts can hear a case, with the concrete diversity example.
• XREF: connects to: Most criminal and civil cases are heard in state rather than federal courts. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 288; Lawyers may file most federal-court cases in state courts instead (forum shopping). — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 289; Subject matter jurisdiction is a discrete threshold matter in federal courts — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1174

Broader Connections

• Subject matter jurisdiction is a discrete threshold matter in federal courts #expands (0.90) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1174