Supreme Court: State Laws And Direct Appeals

The U.S. Supreme Court can review state laws and strike them down on constitutional grounds, even if the law arises from a state court decision on an issue that isn't governed by statute. The Supreme Court can do so because a state court ruling can serve as a law in and of itself. However, the Supreme Court does not have the right to issue advisory opinions or violate jurisdictional bars. The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over certain cases, such as suits between two or more states, and appellate jurisdiction over almost any other case involving constitutional or federal law. While it is rare, the U.S. Supreme Court has heard appeals directly from state courts of first instance, but there is no constitutional right to a direct appeal.

Supreme Court's jurisdiction

The jurisdiction of the US Supreme Court is established by Article III, Section II of the US Constitution. The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over certain cases, such as suits between two or more states, or cases involving ambassadors and other public ministers. It also has original jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus (legal orders compelling government officials to act in accordance with the law).

The Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over almost all other cases that involve a point of constitutional and/or federal law. This includes the ability to review state law to determine its constitutionality. The Supreme Court can strike down a state law on constitutional grounds, even if the law arises from a state court decision on an issue that isn't governed by statute. This is because a state court ruling can serve as a "law" in and of itself, with the same force and effect as a law enacted by statute.

The Supreme Court can also review appeals from "final judgments" issued by the highest court of a state, which usually means the state's supreme court. However, an appeal from a lower court can qualify if the appealing party has exhausted all available appellate options within the state system.

While it is rare, the Supreme Court can hear an appeal directly from a state court of first instance. This can occur when there has been an intermediate direct appeal and a state supreme court has refused discretionary review. However, there is no constitutional right to a direct appeal, and original SCOTUS writs are extremely rare.

State court decisions

The US Constitution establishes a federal system of government, where power is shared between the federal government and the state governments. Both the federal and state governments have their own court systems. The US Supreme Court has the final say on the interpretation of federal laws, including the US Constitution. The Supreme Court can strike down a state law on constitutional grounds if it violates the US Constitution.

The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over certain cases, such as suits between two or more states, cases involving ambassadors and other public ministers, and issuing writs of mandamus. It has appellate jurisdiction over almost any other case that involves a point of constitutional and/or federal law. The Supreme Court may review appeals from "final judgments" issued by the highest court of a state, which usually means the state's supreme court. However, an appeal from a lower court can qualify if the appealing party has exhausted all available appellate options within the state system.

The Supreme Court has provided longstanding guidance on what counts as an "adequate and independent state ground" for a state court decision. To be "adequate", the state basis must have "fair support" and be broad enough to sustain the judgment. An "independent" state basis is not dependent on or "interwoven with" federal law.

While it is rare for the Supreme Court to hear an appeal directly from a state court of first instance, it does happen a couple of times a year. In these cases, the Supreme Court considers a direct appeal from a lower state court and the state supreme court has refused discretionary review. However, there is no constitutional right to a direct appeal of right in state courts; this right is a product of state law and state constitutions.

Federal statutes

The US Constitution establishes a federal system of government, where power is shared between the federal government and state governments. Each state has its own court system, with the highest court of a state usually being the state supreme court.

The US Supreme Court has the final say on the interpretation of federal laws, including the US Constitution. The Supreme Court can review state law to determine its constitutionality, and can strike down a state law on constitutional grounds. This is because a state court ruling can serve as a "law" in and of itself, and the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over certain cases, such as suits between two or more states, and cases involving ambassadors and other public ministers. The Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction over almost any other case that involves a point of constitutional and/or federal law.

The Supreme Court can hear appeals from final judgments issued by the highest court of a state, which usually means the state supreme court. However, an appeal from a lower court can qualify if the appealing party has exhausted all available appellate options within the state system. The Supreme Court can also hear appeals directly from state courts of first instance, although this is rare. In practice, the distinction between federal and state law can be complex, and complications can arise as to which state's laws govern.

The Supreme Court has interpreted its jurisdiction this way to avoid issuing advisory opinions in violation of a separate jurisdictional bar. If the state court would reach the same result based on state law, weighing in on the federal issue would be purely advisory. The Supreme Court determines what counts as an adequate and independent state ground for a state court decision, and has provided longstanding guidance on this. An adequate state basis must have "fair support" and be broad enough to sustain the judgment, while an independent state basis is not dependent on, or "interwoven with," federal law.

Constitutional law

The US Constitution establishes a federal system of government, with power shared between the federal government and state governments. Both the federal government and each of the state governments have their own court systems. The US Supreme Court has jurisdiction over appeals directly from state courts, allowing for the review of state decisions involving issues related to federal statutes, treaties, or constitutional law.

The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over certain cases, such as suits between two or more states, and cases involving ambassadors and other public ministers. It also has original jurisdiction to issue writs of mandamus (legal orders compelling government officials to act in accordance with the law). The Supreme Court's original jurisdiction is established by Article III, Section II of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court can strike down a state law on Constitutional grounds, even if the law arises from a state court decision on an issue that isn't governed by statute. This is because a state court ruling can serve as a "law" in and of itself, with the same force and effect as a law enacted by statute. The Supreme Court can review state law to determine its constitutionality and strike down state laws found to be in violation of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court may review appeals from final judgments issued by the highest court of a state, which usually means the state's supreme court. However, an appeal from a lower court can qualify if the appealing party has exhausted all available appellate options within the state system. The Supreme Court has accepted review from intermediate courts where the state high court's denial of a request to appeal barred further state review.

While it is rare, the US Supreme Court can hear appeals directly from a state court of first instance. This typically occurs when there has been an intermediate direct appeal and a state supreme court has refused discretionary review. There is no constitutional right to a direct appeal, but one can apply for a common law writ in the Supreme Court with respect to state trial court actions under the All Writs Act, which is functionally an appeal.

Judicial precedent

The US Constitution establishes a federal system of government, with power shared between the federal government and state governments. Each state has its own court system, with the country's Supreme Court at the apex.

The Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over certain cases, such as suits between two or more states, or cases involving ambassadors. It also has appellate jurisdiction over almost all other cases that involve a point of constitutional and/or federal law. The Supreme Court can review appeals from "final judgments" issued by the highest court of a state, which usually means the state's supreme court. However, appeals from lower courts can also be considered if the appealing party has exhausted all available appellate options within the state system.

The Supreme Court can strike down a state law on constitutional grounds, even if the law arises from a state court decision on an issue that isn't governed by statute. This is because a state court ruling can serve as a "law" in itself, with the same force and effect as a law enacted by statute. The Supreme Court has the power of judicial review to determine the constitutionality of a state law.

The Supreme Court has interpreted its jurisdiction to avoid issuing advisory opinions in violation of a separate jurisdictional bar. An "adequate and independent state ground" for a state court decision is determined by the Supreme Court itself. An "adequate" state basis must have "fair support" and be broad enough to sustain the judgment, while an "independent" state basis is not dependent on or "interwoven with" federal law.

While it is rare, the Supreme Court does sometimes consider cases with an intermediate direct appeal and where a state supreme court has refused discretionary review. However, there is no constitutional right to a direct appeal to the Supreme Court, and original writs to the Supreme Court are extremely rare.

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