Jurisdiction

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notmartha
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Jurisdiction

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The word “jurisdiction” literally means “law declared”. As there is only one Lawgiver (James 4:12), the one and only Potentate, King of kings, Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15), there is only one Law to declare. Wouldn't then the Kingship of Yahweh be the only jurisdiction followers of Christ should place themselves under?

For further insight, read "A Radical Perspective on Jurisdiction" by Gregory Allan
http://www.lawfulpath.com/ref/jurisdic.shtml

BIBLE

KJV References

Exousia, Greek Strong's #1849, is found 103 times in the New Testament. It is translated as power (69), authority (29), right (2), liberty (1), jurisdiction (1), strength (1). It is translated as “jurisdiction” in the following verse:
Luke 23:3-7 - When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilaean. And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time.
The Sovereignty of God, Arthur Walkington Pink, 1918
The limits of evil-doing and of evildoers has been Divinely defined and cannot be exceeded. Though many are in ignorance of it, all men, good and bad, are under the jurisdiction of and are absolutely subject to the administration of the Supreme Sovereign—"Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth" (Rev. 19:6)—reigneth over all.
DEFINITIONS

Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language, 1828
JURISDIC'TION, noun [Latin jurisdictio; jus, juris, law, and dictio, from dico, to pronounce.]

1. The legal power of authority of doing justice in cases of complaint; the power of executing the laws and distributing justice. Thus we speak of certain suits or actions, or the cognizance of certain crimes being within the jurisdiction of a court, that is, within the limits of their authority or commission. Inferior courts have jurisdiction of debt and trespass, or of smaller offenses; the supreme courts have jurisdiction of treason, murder, and other high crimes. jurisdiction is secular or ecclesiastical.

2. Power of governing or legislating. The legislature of one state can exercise no jurisdiction in another.

3. The power or right of exercising authority. Nations claim exclusive jurisdiction on the sea, to the extent of a marine league from the main land or shore.

4. The limit within which power may be exercised.

Jurisdiction, in its most general sense, is the power to make, declare or apply the law; when confined to the judiciary department, it is what we denominate the judicial power, the right of administering justice through the laws, by the means which the laws have provided for that purpose. jurisdiction is limited to place or territory, to persons, or to particular subjects.
Bouvier’s Law Dictionary, 1856
JURISDICTION, Practice.

1. A power constitutionally conferred upon a judge or magistrate, to take cognizance of, and decide causes according to law, and to carry his sentence into execution. 6 Pet. 591; 9 John. 239. The tract of land or district within which a judge or magistrate has jurisdiction, is called his territory, and his power in relation to his territory is called his territorial jurisdiction.

2. Every act of jurisdiction exercised by a judge without his territory, either by pronouncing sentence or carrying it into execution, is null. An inferior court has no jurisdiction beyond what is expressly delegated. 1 Salk. 404, n.; Gilb. C. P. 188; 1 Saund. 73; 2 Lord Raym. 1311; and see Bac. Ab. Courts, &c., C, et seq; Bac. Ab. Pleas, E 2.

3. Jurisdiction is original, when it is conferred on the court in the first instance, which is called original jurisdiction; (q. v.) or it is appellate, which is when an appeal is given from the judgment of another court. Jurisdiction is also civil, where the subject matter to be tried is not of a criminal nature; or criminal, where the court is to punish crimes. Some courts and magistrates have both civil and criminal jurisdiction. Jurisdiction is also concurrent, exclusive, or assistant. Concurrent jurisdiction is that which may be entertained by several courts. It is a rule that in cases of concurrent jurisdictions, that which is first seized of the case shall try it to the exclusion of the other. Exclusive jurisdiction is that which has alone the power to try or determine the Suit, action, or matter in dispute. assistant jurisdiction is that which is afforded by a court of chancery, in aid of a court of law; as, for example, by a bill of discovery, by the examination of witnesses de bene esse, or out of the jurisdiction of the court; by the perpetuation of the testimony of witnesses, and the like.

4. It is the law which gives jurisdiction; the consent of, parties, cannot, therefore, confer it, in a matter which the law excludes. 1 N. & M. 192; 3 M'Cord, 280; 1 Call. 55; 1 J. S. Marsh. 476; 1 Bibb, 263; Cooke, 27; Minor, 65; 3 Litt. 332; 6 Litt. 303; Kirby, 111; 1 Breese, 32; 2 Yerg. 441; 1 Const. R. 478. But where the court has jurisdiction of the matter, and the defendant has some privilege which exempts him from the jurisdiction, he may wave the privilege. 5 Cranch, 288; 1 Pet. 449; 8 Wheat. 699; 4 W. C. C. R. 84; 4 M'Cord, 79; 4 Mass. 593; Wright, 484. See Hardin, 448; 2 Wash. 213.

5. Courts of inferior jurisdiction must act within their jurisdiction, and so it must appear upon the record. 5 Cranch, 172 Pet. C. C. R. 36; 4 Dall. 11; 2 Mass. 213; 4 Mass. 122; 8 Mass. 86; 11 Mass. 513; Pr. Dec. 380; 2 Verm. 329; 3 Verm. 114; 10 Conn. 514; 4 John. 292; 3 Yerg. 355; Walker, 75; 9 Cowen, 227; 5 Har. & John. 36; 1 Bailey, 459; 2 Bailey, 267. But the legislature may, by a general or special law, provide otherwise. Pet. C. C. R. 36. Vide 1 Salk. 414; Bac. Ab. Courts, &c., C. D; Id. Prerogative, E 6; Merlin, Rep. h. t.; Ayl. Pat. 317, and the art. Competency. As to the force of municipal law beyond the territorial jurisdiction of the state, see Wheat. Intern. Law, part a, c. 2, §7, et seq.; Story, Confl. of Laws, c. 2; Huberus, lib. 1, t. 3; 13 Mass. R. 4 Pard. Dr. Com. part. 6, t. 7, c. 2, §1; and the articles Conflict of Laws; Courts of the United States. See generally, Bouv. Inst. Index, h. t.

Black’s Law Dictionary, 1st Edition, 1891
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A Dictionary of Law, William C. Anderson, 1893
'The power, in a State, is necessarily limited to subjects within its jurisdiction. These are persons, property, and business,--whatever the form of taxation, whether as duties, imports, excises, or licenses. The power may touch property in every shape: in its natural condition, in its manufactured form, in its transmutations. It may touch business in any of its infinite forms--in professions, commerce, manufactures, transportation. The amount is determined by the value, use, capacity, or productiveness. Unrestrained constitutionally, the power of the State as to the mode, form, and extent is unlimited, provided the subject be within her jurisdiction.'

The Century Dictionary, an Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language, 1895
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Black's Law Dictionary, 4th edition, 1957 & 1968
EQUITY JURISDICTION

Equity jurisdiction' in its ordinary acceptation, as distinguished on the one side from the general power to decide matters at all, and on the other from the jurisdiction 'at law' or 'common law jurisdiction,' is the power to hear certain kinds and classes of civil causes according to the principles of the method and procedure adopted by the court of chancery, and to decide them in accordance with the doctrines and rules of equity jurisprudence, which decision may involve either the determination of the equitable rights, estates, and interests of the parties to such causes, or the granting of equitable remedies. In order that a cause may come within the scope of the equity jurisdiction, one of two alternatives is essential: either the primary right, estate, or interest to be maintained, or the violation of which furnishes the cause of action, must be equitable rather than legal; or the remedy granted must be in its nature purely equitable, or if it be a remedy which may also be given by a court of law, it must be one which, under the facts and circumstances of the case, can only be made complete and adequate through the equitable modes of procedure.

WEX Legal Dictionary
Jurisdiction

1. Power of a court to adjudicate cases and issue orders.

2. Territory within which a court or government agency may properly exercise its power. See, e.g. Ruhrgas AG v. Marathon Oil Co. et al., 526 U.S. 574 (1999).
One of the most fundamental questions of law is whether a given court has jurisdiction to preside over a given case. A jurisdictional question may be broken down into three components:
  • 1. whether there is jurisdiction over the person (in personam),
    2. whether there is jurisdiction over the subject matter, or res (in rem), and
    3. whether there is jurisdiction to render the particular judgment sought.
The term jurisdiction is really synonymous with the word "power". Any court possesses jurisdiction over matters only to the extent granted to it by the Constitution, or legislation of the sovereignty on behalf of which it functions. The question of whether a given court has the power to determine a jurisdictional question is itself a jurisdictional question. Such a legal question is referred to as "jurisdiction to determine jurisdiction."
Subject matter jurisdiction is the court's authority to decide the issue in controversy such as a contracts issue, or a civil rights issue. State courts have general jurisdiction, meaning that they can hear any controversy except those prohibited by state law (some states, for example, deny subject matter jurisdiction for a case that does not involve state citizens and did not take place in the state) and those allocated to federal courts of exclusive jurisdiction such as bankruptcy issues (see 28 U.S.C. § 1334). Federal courts have limited jurisdiction in that they can only hear cases that fall both within the scope defined by the Constitution in Article III Section 2 and Congressional statutes (See 28 U.S.C. §1251, §1253, §1331, §1332).

Territorial jurisdiction is the court's power to bind the parties to the action. This law determines the scope of federal and state court power. State court territorial jurisdiction is determined by the Due Process Clause of the Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment and the federal court territorial jurisdiction is determined by the Due Process Clause of the Constitution's Fifth Amendment.

Other forms of jurisdiction include appellate jurisdiction (the power of one court to correct the errors of another, lower court), concurrent jurisdiction (the notion that two courts might share the power to hear cases of the same type, arising in the same place), and diversity jurisdiction (the power of Federal courts to hear cases in which the parties are from different states). An example showing the interplay of diversity jurisdiction with subject-matter jurisdiction is Grupo Dataflux v. Atlas Global Group, L. P. (02-1689), 541 U.S. 567 (2004)
MISCELLANEOUS

14th Amendment, U.S. Constitution:
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside."
Redding v. Tinkum, 1882
"Legislative authority of a state must be exercised within the territorial limits of the state and it has no extra-territorial jurisdiction."
The Blaireau, 2 Cranch 264; Ex parte Newman, 14 Wall. 152.
"Admiralty has jurisdiction of an action between parties who are foreigners where the parties consent to the jurisdiction."
Billings v. Hall:
Under our form of government, the legislature is not supreme ... like other departments of government, it can only exercise such powers as have been delegated to it, and when it steps beyond that boundary, its acts, like those of the most humble magistrate in the state who transcends his jurisdiction, are utterly void.
How Unlawful Courts Gain Jurisdiction by Greg Loren Durand
How Unlawful Courts Gain Jurisdiction.pdf
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MAXIMS
Boni judicis est ampliare jurisdictionem.
It is the part of a good judge to enlarge his jurisdiction; that, his remedial authority.

Est boni judicis ampliare jurisdictionem.
It is the part of a good judge to extend the jurisdiction.

Extra territorium jus dicenti non paretur impune.
One who exercises jurisdiction out of his territory is not obeyed with impunity.

Judici officium suum excedenti non paretur.
To a judge who exceeds his office or jurisdiction no obedience is due.

Quaelibet jurisdictio cancellos suos habet.
Every jurisdiction has its bounds.

Qui habet jurisdictionem absolvendi, habet jurisdictionem ligandi.
He who has jurisdiction to loosen, has jurisdiction to bind.

Rerum ordo confunditur, si unicuique jurisdictio non servetur.
The order of things is confounded if every one preserves not his jurisdiction.

Quicunque habet jurisdictionem ordinariam est illius loci ordinarius
Whoever has an ordinary jurisdiction is ordinary of that place

QUOTES


William Carr:
...no nation which signs this [UN] Charter can justly maintain that any of its acts are its own business, or within its own domestic jurisdiction, if the security council says that these acts are a threat to the peace.
Alexander Hamilton:
The prosecution [of impeachments], will seldom fail to agitate the passions of the whole community, and to divide it into parties more or less friendly or inimical to the accused. The subjects of its jurisdiction are those offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust, and they relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to the society itself.
James Madison:
In the first place, it is to be remembered, that the general government is not to be charged with the whole power of making and administering laws: its jurisdiction is limited to certain enumerated objects, which concern all the members of the republic, but which are not to be attained by the separate provisions of any.
Thomas Jefferson:
The germ of dissolution of our federal government is in ... the federal judiciary; an irresponsible body (for impeachment is scarcely a scare-crow), working like gravity by night and by day, gaining a little today and a little tomorrow, and advancing it’s noiseless step like a thief, over the field of jurisdiction, until all shall be usurped from the States, and the government of all be consolidated into one. ...when all government... in little as in great things, shall be drawn to Washington as the centre of all power, it will render powerless the checks provided of one government on another and will become as venal and oppressive as the government from which we separated.
Louis Dolivet:
The United States has no jurisdiction. No representative of administrative, judicial, military, or police authority of the United States may enter that zone without permission of the Secretary-General. In short: as long as the seat of the United Nations remains within the United States, the area occupied by the United Nations is considered as extraterritorial [separate from the United States] with full diplomatic privileges and immunities.
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