From Latin 'jus' (law) + 'dictio' (declaration) — the authority to declare what the law means in a given territory.
The official power to make legal decisions and judgments; the extent or range of judicial, law enforcement, or other authority; a territory within which authority may be exercised.
From Latin iūrisdictiō (administration of justice, legal authority, jurisdiction), a compound of iūris (genitive of iūs, law, right, legal authority) + dictiō (a speaking, a saying, a declaration), from dīcere (to say, to speak). Iūs possibly derives from PIE *h₂yew- (vital force, law, sacred right), the same root underlying Sanskrit āyu- (life force). Dīcere derives from PIE *deyk- (to show, to point out, to pronounce), also underlying Greek deiknumi (I show), Sanskrit diśati (points out), Old English
The phrase 'I have no jurisdiction here' captures the word's literal meaning perfectly: 'I have no authority to say the law here.' In the United States, jurisdictional disputes between federal and state courts, or between states, have produced some of the most consequential Supreme Court cases in history, including Marbury v. Madison (1803), which established judicial review itself.
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