I am doing some reading for an intro to law class I am in, and the text briefly mentions 'concurrent jurisdiction', wherein a case can be brought to either federal or state court. It states that the plaintif makes the initial decisions regarding which court to use, but the defendant can remove the case to the alternate court.

There is no further detail here, and I'm having difficulty finding the answer online (probably because I can't formulate the question in a searchable format)- but I am curious as to why one would prefer one court over the other? From what I understand, the federal court system would have to apply state law for state issues, and vice versa- what difference would it make then as to which court the case is heard in?

Even just a link to a better explanation of this online would be excellent- thanks for your help!

Try this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diversity_jurisdiction) discussion.