The main factors that determine whether a case will be heard by the federal or state are the type of parties involved and the nature of the accusation. The national charter of a given country plays a key role in determining the type of cases to be handled by the two courts. Although the constitution impacts significantly on the jurisdictions of the duo, the extent of its dictation on cases is more pronounced in the federal courts compared to the state tribunals.
Regarding parties involved, the state laws center their focus on allegations about residents in their respective states. On the contrary, federal courts are predominantly concerned with cases of individuals and parties from diverse states. Concomitantly, lawsuits filed by citizens against the state are handled by the federal court.
Furthermore, the concept of jurisprudential demarcation determines the hearer of a given case. For instance, in the United States, cases that involve the country directly and those in which a breach of US constitutional laws has been committed are presided by the federal courts. Similarly, lawsuits whereby the two parties belong to different states and the controversial dollar value exceeds $64,000 are heard by the federal court.
In summary, disputes involving a state and an individual, state-state lawsuits, infringement of policies documented in the state’s constitution, and cases filed by residents of different states are all ruled by the federal tribunal.