Civil procedure
Federal Question Jurisdiction
Federal question jurisdiction is a federal court's power to hear a case that arises under the Constitution, a federal statute, or a treaty.
The federal issue has to appear on the face of the plaintiff's own complaint. Anticipating a federal defense does not count, which is the well-pleaded complaint rule and the reason many disputes that feel federal stay in state court.
Civil rights claims, patent and copyright suits, employment discrimination under Title VII, securities claims, and habeas petitions all arrive this way. There is no minimum amount in controversy.
Supplemental jurisdiction rides along with it. Once a federal claim is properly in court, related state law claims from the same facts can be heard too, which is why so many federal complaints mix a federal statute with ordinary contract or tort counts. Courts can also decline to keep the state law claims after the federal ones drop out, which is why a case that loses its federal count often lands back in state court rather than proceeding to trial in federal court.
How it appears on a docket
The docket header shows Jurisdiction: Federal Question, Cause: 42:1983 Civil Rights Act.
Governing rule
28 U.S.C. Sec. 1331
Related terms
- Diversity Jurisdiction — Diversity jurisdiction lets a federal court hear a state-law case because the opposing parties are citizens of different states and more than $75,000 is at stake.
- Rule 12(b)(1) — Rule 12(b)(1) is the ground for dismissing a case because the federal court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to hear it at all.
More on civil procedure
See this term in a real case
Search federal court records and read the filings where federal question jurisdiction actually shows up. New to federal dockets? Start with how to find a federal case.