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concurrent jurisdiction

Two or more courts have concurrent jurisdiction over a case if all of the courts have the power to hear it. Most notably, in the United States federal courts and state courts have concurrent jurisdiction to hear many types of actions. Similarly, a state court of general jurisdiction might have concurrent jurisdiction with specialized courts in the same state, such as family courts or small claims courts.

When multiple courts have concurrent jurisdiction over a claim, plaintiffs may deliberately pick the forum most favorable to them. See Forum Shopping .

See Jurisdiction ; Civil Procedure .

Wex

• CIVICS

• multi-jurisdictional law

• THE LEGAL PROCESS

• courts

• criminal procedure

• civil procedure

• wex definitions