Also known as: jurisdictional fact
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Facts that must be established to confer or sustain a court's or agency's jurisdiction over a matter or party. Establishment of these facts confirms that the tribunal or agency possesses the power to adjudicate the dispute or impose sanctions.
Gabriel, a civilian contractor, faced charges before an executive-created commission for alleged diversion of materials to insurgents. The commission relied solely on classified summaries from anonymous sources without any hearing to confirm his status as an unlawful belligerent. Because the required jurisdictional facts remained unestablished, the panel lacked authority to proceed and should have dismissed the charges.
Precision Steel sued Apex Builders and Titan Stadium Holdings in federal court after a stadium project dispute. After trial the judge learned Titan's principal place of business was in the same state as Precision Steel. The court had to dismiss because the jurisdictional facts of complete diversity never existed.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
A husband challenged a Florida divorce decree in North Carolina by claiming his wife never established domicile there. The Florida court had already conducted proceedings that resolved the domicile issue after the husband received notice and an opportunity to contest it. Full faith and credit therefore barred relitigation of those jurisdictional facts.
A deputy commissioner awarded compensation after finding that an injured worker was an employee of the defendant and that the injury occurred on navigable waters. The employer challenged those determinations as jurisdictional facts requiring independent judicial resolution rather than deferential review.
Curtiss-Wright was indicted for selling arms to Bolivia after the President issued proclamations under a joint resolution. The company argued the resolution never took effect because the President failed to find the essential jurisdictional facts needed to activate the statute.
A defendant appeared in litigation and litigated the merits without contesting personal jurisdiction. The Supreme Court held that the defendant could not later attack the judgment by claiming the plaintiff had failed to establish the jurisdictional facts of minimum contacts.
A federal court must examine jurisdictional facts at any stage of the proceedings whenever it appears that subject-matter jurisdiction may be lacking. The court has an independent obligation to confirm these facts even after trial or when the parties have not raised the issue.
Supporting sources
The commission cannot proceed. The authorizing statute requires that jurisdictional facts be established to confirm the tribunal's power over the accused, and failure to do so renders the commission invalid under separation-of-powers limits.
Supporting sources
No. Subject-matter jurisdiction cannot be created by agreement, waiver, or forfeiture. The court must independently verify the facts that establish its power regardless of party conduct.
Supporting sources
Jurisdictional facts are those essential to an agency's lawful exercise of power and may receive closer judicial scrutiny. Ordinary facts receive deferential review under the APA unless a statute or constitutional doctrine requires de novo examination.
Supporting sources
…defense in the negligence action. They simply reflect a policy, cf. Crowell v. Benson , that administrative determination of 'jurisdictional facts' should not be final but subject to judicial review. The conclusion is inescapable that the Adams holding is grounded in the practical consideration that the question had therefore come…