Jurisdiction, Venue, and Forum
Threshold Doctrines
The Constitution requires recognition of sister state judgments, subject to defenses including lack of jurisdiction in the rendering court and fraud. Recognition does not extend to another state's substantive law.
Registration procedures simplify enforcement.
Alternative Names:
Full Faith and Credit Clause|Interstate Recognition
Why it Matters?
Jurisdictional challenge is the principal defense to enforcement, since a judgment entered without personal jurisdiction over the defendant is not entitled to recognition, and a defendant that never appeared may raise the defect collaterally. A defendant that appeared and litigated jurisdiction, however, is bound by that determination. That distinction makes the decision whether to appear in a questionable forum consequential well beyond the immediate case.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What defeats recognition?
What if the defendant appeared and contested jurisdiction?
