Exclusive jurisdiction means which of the following?

• A. More than one court can hear the case
• B. The case can be heard only by a single court
• C. The venue is determined by the defendant
• D. The case must be heard in the U.S. Supreme Court

Answer: (B)

Exclusive jurisdiction means only one court has the authority to hear a particular case. When a matter is under exclusive jurisdiction, other courts—even if they could hear similar issues—cannot take the case, and it must go to that single designated court. This is different from concurrent jurisdiction, where more than one court could hear the case. For example, certain subject-matter powers are assigned exclusively to federal courts, so those cases must be filed there rather than in state courts. The other options describe scenarios like multiple courts hearing the same matter, venue control, or cases proceeding in a high court, which don’t capture the idea that only one court may hear the case.