whether he can find and bring to court the person who has injured him，and whether he can produce the witnesses and evidence that will prove the case. And then, perhaps most important of all, he must ask himself whether the lawsuit is worth the time, the effort and the expenses it will cost, or whether other alternatives9 among them settlement> arbitration, self-help and letting matters rest, are better.

After all these factors have been considered and the potential litigant decides to commence a legal action, he must then consider to which court he should bring the case.

A lawsuit must be brought before a court that has the power to hear the case. The power to hear the case is known as jurisdiction, which has two aspects: jurisdiction over the subject matter and jurisdiction over the parties. The former means that the lawsuit must be of the type that the court was created to decide.2 A criminal court would have no jurisdiction in a divorce matter. A federal district court will not have jurisdiction over many disputes (disputes» for example，over damages for breach of contract between citizens of one state), because the subject matter jurisdiction of federal courts is limited by the Constitution.

A court must also have jurisdiction over the parties. Its jurisdiction over the plaintiff is established when the plaintiff files the suit with the court and thus voluntarily submits to its jurisdiction.

Jurisdiction over the defendant is accomplished by the service of a summons issued by the court. Service of a summons is not much of a problem if the defendant is a citizen of the forum state. If this is not the case, the assertion of jurisdiction will have to depend on whether the defendant has minimum contacts with the state to satisfy the due process clause of the Constitution.3 If the defendant has no minimum contacts with the forum state, there will be no basis for jurisdiction over his person» and service cannot be effected.

Service of summons in a few cases may be effected by publishing a notice in a newspaper. Most cases, however, require the actual service of a summons to the defendant in order to give him notice of the suit.

Very often» more than one court in a state have jurisdiction over a case. To select among them the question of venue must be considered. Venue relates to, and defines» the particular territorial area within the state in which a legal action is to take place.4 Matters of venue are usually determined by statute. For example 9 venue statutes in most states provide that actions concerning interests in land must be commenced and tried in the county or district in which the land is located. Suits for divorce must be commenced and tried in the county in which one of the parties resides.

1. What are the factors a potential plaintiff must consider before commencing a legal action?
2. What are the alternatives to litigation?
3. Do the federal courts have extensive subject matter jurisdiction? Why or why not?
4. When does a court establish its jurisdiction over the plaintiff?
5. When does a court assert its jurisdiction over the defendant?
6. If the defendant is not a citizen of the forum state, what becomes important for the courts assertion of jurisdiction over him?
7. What is "venue" ?
8. What determines matters of venue?