1. A court’s acting beyond the limits of its power, usu. in one of three ways: (1) when the court has no power to deal with the kind of matter at issue, (2) when the court has no power to deal with the particular person concerned, or (3) when the judgment or order issued is of a kind that the court has no power to issue. [Cases: Courts 29, 40. C.J.S. Courts §§ 67, 70, 91–92.]
2. A court’s departure from recognized and established requirements of law, despite apparent adherence to procedural form, the effect of which is a deprivation of one’s constitutional right. — Also termed excess jurisdiction.
