Legal Definitions - excess jurisdiction

Excess jurisdiction refers to a situation where a court goes beyond its legal authority or power. This can happen in three ways:

1. When the court has no power to deal with the type of case being presented.
2. When the court has no power to deal with the specific person involved in the case.
3. When the court issues a judgment or order that it has no power to issue.

For example, if a family court judge were to issue a ruling on a criminal case, that would be an example of excess jurisdiction because family courts do not have the authority to handle criminal cases.

Another example would be if a judge were to issue a ruling against a person who was not properly served with legal papers. In this case, the court would not have the power to make a ruling against that person because they were not given proper notice of the case.

Excess jurisdiction can also occur when a court follows the correct procedures but still violates a person's constitutional rights. For instance, if a judge were to issue a search warrant without probable cause, that would be an example of excess jurisdiction because the judge would be exceeding their legal authority.