In a lawsuit, what does a question of law refer to?

In the context of a lawsuit, a question of law refers specifically to issues that involve the interpretation or application of legal statutes, regulations, or case law. This is distinct from questions of fact, which focus on the specifics of what happened in a case—facts that might be established through testimony or other forms of evidence.

When a case involves a question of law, it typically means that the matter is one that can be resolved by a judge, rather than requiring a jury's deliberation. For instance, if there is ambiguity in a law or if the parties involved challenge how a law should be interpreted concerning the details of a case, that would constitute a question of law. Judges have the authority to clarify legal principles and apply them to the circumstances of a case, thereby guiding its outcome based on legal standards rather than factual disputes.

The other options relate to different aspects of legal proceedings: issues of factual evidence pertain to the actual events or circumstances surrounding a dispute; matters for jury resolution concern the determinations about facts that need to be weighed and decided by a jury; disputes over court jurisdiction involve questions about which court has the authority to hear a case, focusing on procedural rather than legal interpretation.