Original jurisdiction

The original jurisdiction of a court refers to matters on which the court rules on directly, rather than on matters which are referred to it after being heard by another court. The latter is appellate jurisdiction.

The Supreme Court of the United States generally has appellate jurisdiction over its cases (i.e. cases are appealed through the judicial system until they reach the Court, technically through writs of certiorari). However, over certain cases, it has original jurisdiction. These cases are automatically given to the Supreme Court. Generally, these are interstate disputes (which cannot be handled by lower courts). The most "popular" original jurisdiction cases are property claims between states.