Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Personal jurisdiction is the power that a court has to make a decision about someone who is being sued. The court can only have power over that person if they have some connection to the place where the court is located. If the person being sued doesn't think the court has power over them, they can object to the lawsuit. But if they show up in court without objecting, they are giving up their right to challenge the court's power. To get personal jurisdiction, the person suing usually has to serve the person being sued in the same state as the court and the person being sued has to show up in court.
Definition: Personal jurisdiction refers to a court's power to make a decision about a party being sued in a case. The U.S. Constitution requires that the party being sued has certain minimum contacts with the state where the court is located before the court can exercise power over them. If the defendant argues that the court does not have personal jurisdiction over them, they can object to the lawsuit.
Example: If someone from California sues someone from New York in a court in Texas, the court must determine if it has personal jurisdiction over the defendant from New York. If the defendant has never been to Texas and has no business or other connections there, they may argue that the court does not have personal jurisdiction over them.
Waiving Personal Jurisdiction: Personal jurisdiction can be waived by the party being sued. If the defendant appears in court without objecting to the court's lack of personal jurisdiction over them, the court will assume that the defendant is waiving any challenge to personal jurisdiction.
Example: If the defendant from New York in the previous example decides to appear in court in Texas without objecting to the court's personal jurisdiction over them, they are waiving any challenge to personal jurisdiction.
Obtaining Personal Jurisdiction: To have personal jurisdiction over a defendant, the plaintiff usually needs to serve the defendant in the state where the court is located, and the defendant needs to voluntarily appear in court.
Example: If the plaintiff from California in the previous example serves the defendant from New York with the lawsuit in Texas and the defendant decides to appear in court in Texas, the court may have personal jurisdiction over the defendant.