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A Tale Of Two Jurisdictions, Alan M. Trammell

Vanderbilt Law Review

The Supreme Court has recently clarified one corner of personal jurisdiction-a court's power to hale a defendant into court-and pointed the way toward a coherent theory of the rest of the doctrine. For nearly seventy years, the Court has embraced two theories of when jurisdiction over a defendant is permissible. The traditional theory, general jurisdiction, authorizes jurisdiction when there is a tight connection between the defendant and the forum. The modern theory, specific jurisdiction, focuses more on the connection between the lawsuit itself and the forum. Although the two theories should have developed in tandem, the doctrine has become a …