When can the US Supreme Court review a state supreme court decision?

Answer 1

A case can be appealed from a state supreme court to the US Supreme Court when there is a preserved federal question involved. A "preserved federal question" means the case raises issues about the US Constitution, federal law, or a US treaty at each step of the judicial process -- from trial through appeals.

Federal questions about the constitutionality of a state law may be raised and determined in state courts. If the state action goes to the state supreme court, but one party alleges that the state supreme court decision is wrong because it mistakenly interprets the US Constitution or federal statute, the US Supreme Court may consider an appeal from the state supreme court decision on a petition for writ of certiorari.

If the state supreme court decision is based entirely on the state constitution or state statute with no issue of a federal nature, then the US Supreme Court has no jurisdiction and may not hear the case.

Answer 2

No. There are currently only three ways to reverse a U.S. Supreme Court decision.

1. The Supreme Court can reverse its own decisions.
2. Congress can pass legislation that nullifies a decision (as long as the new legislation is constitutional).
3. Congress and the states can create and ratify a new Amendment to the Constitution.

Answer

They cannot overrule a state Supreme Court on a matter of state law. A state Supreme Court is the final arbiter of decisions involving state statutes and the state constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court can only overrule a state court if it determines that the court's ruling is contrary to federal or constitutional law.

That is what occurred, for example, with Bush v. Gore in 2000. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Florida Supreme Court's decision violated the equal protection clause in the U.S. Constitution because the recount procedures involved the counting of votes using different standards in different counties.

Answer 3

The US Supreme Court can only review cases on appeal from, or when an appeal has been refused by, a state's "court of last resort" (usually called [state name] supreme court, but there are exceptions), if all state avenues of appeal have been exhausted and if the case involves a preservedfederal or US constitutional question. For an issue to be preserved, it must be raised at the trial level and all levels of appeal.

Answer 4

Generally, the US Supreme Court can accept a case on appeal from the state courts once the case has exhausted all state appeals IF there is a preserved federal question involved. A federal question is a matter involving the US Constitution, federal law or a US treaty. Preserved means the question has been raised at the trial level and at each subsequent appeal.

Petitions for writ of certiorari from state courts are governed by federal law Title 28 USC § 1257(a) and by US Supreme Court Rule 10. There may be some rare exceptions to the rule, but research hasn't revealed an instances of a party invoking an exception, if one exists.

PART III. Jurisdiction on Writ of Certiorari

Rule 10. Considerations Governing Review on Certiorari

Review on a writ of certiorari is not a matter of right, but of judicial discretion. A petition for a writ of certiorari will be granted only for compelling reasons. The following, al­though neither controlling nor fully measuring the Court's discretion, indicate the character of the reasons the Court considers:

(a) a United States court of appeals has entered a deci­sion in conflict with the decision of another United States court of appeals on the same important matter; has decided an important federal question in a way that conflicts with a decision by a state court of last resort; or has so far departed from the accepted and usual course of judicial proceedings, or sanctioned such a de­parture by a lower court, as to call for an exercise of this Court's supervisory power;

(b) a state court of last resort has decided an impor­tant federal question in a way that conflicts with the decision of another state court of last resort or of a United States court of appeals;

(c) a state court or a United States court of appeals has decided an important question of federal law that has not been, but should be, settled by this Court, or has decided an important federal question in a way that conflicts with relevant decisions of this Court.

A petition for a writ of certiorari is rarely granted when the asserted error consists of erroneous factual findings or the misapplication of a properly stated rule of law.

Title 28 USC § 1257(a)

(a) Final judgments or decrees rendered by the highest court of a State in which a decision could be had, may be reviewed by the Supreme Court by writ of certiorari where the validity of a treaty or statute of the United States is drawn in question or where the validity of a statute of any State is drawn in question on the ground of its being repugnant to the Constitution, treaties, or laws of the United States, or where any title, right, privilege, or immunity is specially set up or claimed under the Constitution or the treaties or statutes of, or any commission held or authority exercised under, the United States.

Answer 5

The US Supreme Court may exercise appellate jurisdiction over state supreme court cases in which the petitioner has a preserved (raised at trial and every level of appeal) federal question (questions where an infringement of US Constitutional rights have been alleged).

Answer 6

The US Supreme Court only reviews state laws that are relevant to a case before the court if it conflicts with federal law or infringes rights protected by the Constitution. The primary considerations for using judicial nullification to overturn state laws would be:

1. if they infringe individual liberties protected by the Bill of Rights;
2. if they conflict with a federal law or treaty; or
3. if they usurp a power reserved for a branch of the federal government.

The court may also interpret and apply a state law without exercising judicial review, if the statute is part of a case raising a federal question on another matter. The federal courts have authority to hear cases or appeals under concurrent jurisdiction, or when the case involves both federal and state laws.

Answer 7

The US Supreme Court can overturn a State law that is repugnant to the US Constitution (violates a provision of the Constitution that is applicable to the States), but only if the law is relevant to a case under the Court's review.

Answer 8

If the parties would like the Supreme Court to hear an appeal, the petition the Supreme Court for a Writ of Certiori.