What does the "minimum contacts" standard require?

The "minimum contacts" standard requires that defendants must have sufficient connections to the forum state in order for a court to establish personal jurisdiction over them. This standard is rooted in the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and is designed to ensure fairness in legal proceedings.

For a court to exercise personal jurisdiction, the defendant must have engaged in some activity that would reasonably anticipate being brought into court in that state. This can include physical presence, conducting business, entering into contracts, or having other interactions that create a connection to the forum state. The essence of the minimum contacts principle is to protect defendants from being haled into a distant court without a fair opportunity to defend themselves.

In contrast, options that suggest the opposite, such as requiring defendants to reside in the forum state or to have no connection at all, do not align with the established legal framework. Similarly, the idea that defendants must be present during trial is not a requisite for establishing jurisdiction; rather, what matters is their prior conduct related to the state where the court is located. Thus, the requirement focuses on the nature and quality of the defendants’ connections to the state, making sufficient connections essential for the exercise of jurisdiction.