State courts generally have broad, general jurisdiction over most disputes arising under state law, covering everything from contract and personal injury claims to family law and most criminal matters.

Federal courts, by contrast, have limited jurisdiction defined by the U.S. Constitution and federal statutes, meaning they can only hear cases that fall within specific categories Congress and the Constitution have authorized them to decide.

The two primary bases for federal jurisdiction are "federal question" jurisdiction, where the case arises under federal law such as a federal statute or constitutional claim, and "diversity" jurisdiction, where the parties are citizens of different states and the amount in controversy exceeds a set statutory threshold.

Certain matters, like bankruptcy, patents, and federal criminal law, fall exclusively within federal court jurisdiction and cannot be brought in state court at all.

Federal courts follow the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and their own local rules, while each state court system has its own procedural rules, which can differ meaningfully from federal practice and from one another.

Other practical differences include how judges are selected and how long they serve, the composition of the jury pool, and generally different filing fees and case-management practices between the two systems.

When a case qualifies for federal jurisdiction, a defendant sued in state court can sometimes remove the case to federal court, provided the removal is timely and the jurisdictional requirements are met.

Attorneys often evaluate forum strategically within these jurisdictional bounds, since procedural timelines, available discovery tools, and case-management practices can genuinely differ between state and federal court even when the underlying substantive law is the same.