Equity Jurisdiction in the United States

The power of a court to grant relief or remedy to a party seeking court assistance outside the principles of common law. Equity jurisdiction permits judgments based on perceptions of fairness that supplement common law doctrines. Relief is assistance extended by a court to an injured or aggrieved party that is justified by equitable considerations. A remedy is the specific means, such as an injunction, by which a court intervenes to protect a legal right or interest through its equity jurisdiction. In Brown v. Board of Education II (349 U.S. 294: 1955), for example, the Supreme Court mandated that lower federal courts issue relief decrees shaped by equitable principles. The Court characterized equity as having a practical flexibility in its approach to constructing remedies. The lower courts were to reconcile public and private needs with decrees framed by perceptions of fairness and justice. A show cause proceeding is a process in equity jurisdiction with the rules of equity applying. A show cause order may be issued by a court to require a party to appear and explain why an action should not take place. Anyone opposed to the action has an opportunity to express his or her position and produce supporting evidence. If the affected party does not appear or present acceptable reasons, the proposed show cause action will take place. The burden of proof is on the party required to show cause.

See Also

Appellate Jurisdiction (Judicial Organization) Original Jurisdiction (Judicial Organization).

Analysis and Relevance

Equity jurisdiction is needed because in some cases the

law is too rigid or unjust in its application. Equity jurisdiction is the power to hear certain kinds of civil cases using processes developed in the old chancery courts. Equity jurisdiction in the United States is placed in the same courts that possess jurisdiction over statutory and common law. In Great Britain, courts of equity are structurally separate from courts having jurisdiction over legal matters. As states adopted uniform rules of civil procedure, chancery courts disappeared as separate entities in the United States. Considerations of equity in American courts protect against injustices occurring through proper but too rigid application of common law principles or where gaps exist in the common law.

Notes and References

1. Definition of Equity Jurisdiction from the American Law Dictionary, 1991, California