when a state sues someone, does the case go directly to the United States Supreme Court?

Answer 1

· No the state tries its lawsuits in that states courts.
· If there is an appeal then the case can be tried in the State Supreme Court.
· The case won't reach Federal Court unless a federal law in involved.
· A case will only be tried in the Supreme Court if the President or Vice President is being impeached. Otherwise the case has to be based on Constitutional Law.

Also you can only bring a lawsuit against the state with the state's permission that allows the state to avoid nuisance lawsuits.

If your lawsuit is based on property, ownership of something or any other civil matter then the case will be settled in the state's civil court. If the case is about if an action is legal or not then it will be heard in the state legal court. Unless it involves a federal law then it will go to a federal court.

A case can only be appealed if part of the trial was done improperly, another words based on an issue that happened in the trial that was done improperly. No new evidence or witnesses may be introduced. The case can only be tried once. If the case is a state case then it can only be appealed to a state court, federal cases can only be appealed to a federal court. If the lower Supreme Court has ruled on the case then it cannot be appealed to a higher court. It can only be appealed to the Supreme Court if it is a matter of law that is based directly on the US Constitution.

Answer 2

No. While the Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear many different cases, it restricts what is hears.

From Wikipedia: The court's original jurisdiction is narrowly focused, as defined in Article III, Section 2 ("In all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party, the supreme Court shall have original Jurisdiction").
....
The Constitution specifies that the Supreme Court may exercise original jurisdiction in cases affecting ambassadors and other diplomats, and in cases in which a state is a party. In all other cases, however, the Supreme Court has only appellate jurisdiction. The Supreme Court considers cases based on its original jurisdiction very rarely; almost all cases are brought to the Supreme Court on appeal. In practice, the only original jurisdiction cases heard by the Court are disputes between two or more states.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States