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Why must a person have sufficient contact with a state before being sued there?

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Mosaic portrait of Emperor Justinian I with a jeweled crown and halo, from the 6th-century Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy. — Procedural law Justinian I, detail of a 6th-century mosaic at the Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy.

In the context of procedural law, the requirement for a defendant to have sufficient contact with a state is a fundamental protection against the unfair exercise of judicial power.

Courts must possess the authority to adjudicate a case, a concept often referred to as jurisdiction over the defendant. Requiring a connection to the forum state serves several essential purposes:1

Protecting Defendants: In the United States, the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment limits a state's power to assert jurisdiction, specifically to shield defendants from the unreasonable burdens of defending themselves in distant or unrelated forums.21
Preventing Forum Shopping: Jurisdictional limits help prevent plaintiffs from engaging in "forum shopping"—the practice of selecting a court solely to gain procedural or substantive advantages, such as more favorable liability standards or easier discovery, even when the forum has no legitimate connection to the parties or the controversy.2
Ensuring Judicial Efficiency: Limiting jurisdiction prevents local courts from becoming overwhelmed by litigation that has no concern for the state, ensuring that judicial resources are reserved for matters with a genuine nexus to the jurisdiction.2

Ultimately, these rules ensure that the legal system remains fair, systematic, and unbiased.3