While the US Supreme Court is assigned original jurisdiction (authority to hear the case first) over disputes between a state and the federal government, it doesn't have exclusivejurisdiction over such cases. At present, federal law requires these matters to be heard first in the US District Courts.
These courts are known as Courts of Original Jurisdiction and are the lowest level (i.e.: first level) of courts in the their respective systems. The Supreme court can hear those cases.
If a case involves constitutional matters
Yes. When both state and federal courts have authority to hear the same case, it's called concurrent jurisdiction.
When state and federal courts both have authority to hear the same case, they have concurrent jurisdiction.Each system has both courts of original jurisdiction (trial courts) and courts of appellate jurisdiction. State courts typically hear matters involving state questions; federal courts hear matters involving federal questions. There are some exceptions, however, when a case may be heard in either state or federal court.For more information, see Related Questions, below.
Federal courts have jurisdiction over cases that involve federal law. There are also a few jurisdiction issues that could bring a state law case into federal court.
No The above answere is wrong. State courts can decide issues of federal law, but they are only persuasive authority, since the Federal courts are not required to follow those decisions.
The Supreme Court is the highest of the federal courts. Cases from the court of appeals in each circuit and from the state supreme courts can be appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court can "reach down" to the lower courts and hear that case, or, it can hear a case on appeal from the lower federal courts or highest state courts, at the Supreme Court's discretion.
An easy answer might be that a federal case is one that is tried in federal courts and a state case is one that is tried in state courts, but it is not that simple. A federal case is one which involves enforcement of federal statutes or the Constitution or civil cases under the so-called diversity jurisdiction of the courts. Diversity jurisdiction allows issues that would ordinarily be state cases to be tried in federal courts if the parties are located in different states and the amount in controversy exceeds a statutorily fixed amount. One might say that this is simply a state case in a federal court, but it is more correct to call it a federal case since federal law created federal diversity jurisdiction and since it is being tried in a federal court. A state case is one which involves enforcement of state statutes or case law (like personal injury, contract and state criminal offenses). Sometimes federal issues are raised in state courts. Nothing prohibits a party in a state court from raising federal constitutional issues. In fact it is common, such as when in a state criminal trial, the accused alleges his federal constitutional rights have been violated. Examples are demands to exclude evidence that has been obtaine through an allegedly unreasonable search and seizure, or that a new trial should be had because the defendant was denied competent counsel and other protected rights. The mere raising of a federal issue does not require it to be heard in a federal court.
Under some situations, a case involving a person from out of state can be tried in a Federal Court according to a state law. While state law never supersedes Federal law, a lawyer can bring up a case from state law that might have bearing on a Federal Case. The way the United States Supreme Court ruled on that state case would affect Federal Law and could influence the federal court.
Simply, if the case arises under federal statute or is a case of constitutional interpretation federal courts will have original jurisdiction.
Federal courts hear cases with federal jurisdiction. Such jurisdiction comes if the case hears a question of federal law or if the case has diversity jurisdiction (parties are citizens of different states and minimum dollar amount is in dispute.)
A federal case is tried in a federal branch circuit court. States typically have several of these courts that will try all federal cases from a certain region in a state.
Concurrent jurisdiction
A federal case is any case about the violation of a federal law such as federal tax evasion, desertion of the US military, or international drug smuggling. Some crimes that would create state cases (non-federal cases) include traffic violations and state tax evasion.