Minimum contacts is a term used in U.S. law to determine when it is appropriate for a court in one state to assert personal jurisdiction over a defendant from another state. The U.S. Supreme Court has decided a number of cases that have established and refined the principle that it is unfair for a court to assert jurisdiction over a party unless that party's contacts with the state in which that court sits are such that the party "could reasonably expect to be haled into court" in that state. This jurisdiction must "not offend traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice."