Is the supreme court used in the federal or state court system?

Answer 1

In the United States, the state supreme court (known by various names in various states) is the highest state court in the state court system.

Generally, the state supreme court is exclusively for hearing appeals of legal issues. It does not do any finding of facts, and thus holds no trials. In the rare case where the trial court made an egregious error in its finding of facts, the court will remand to that court for a new trial. This nature is responsible for some of the different names of some courts.

The court consists of a panel of judges selected by methods outlined in the state constitution.

Contents [hide]
1 Appellate jurisdiction
2 Terminology
2.1 "Court of Appeals"
2.2 Older terminology
2.3 Dual and triple supreme courts
3 Methods of composition and practitioners
3.1 Partisan election
3.2 Non-partisan election[3]
3.3 Election by the state legislature
3.4 Appointment by the Governor[4]
3.5 The Missouri Plan
3.5.1 Modified Missouri
4 List of state supreme courts
5 Supreme courts in the U.S. territories and federal district
6 Supreme courts of sovereign nations
7 See also
8 Footnotes



[edit] Appellate jurisdiction
Under American federalism, the interpretation of a state supreme court on a matter of state law is normally final and binding and must be accepted in both state and federal courts.

Federal courts may only overrule a state court when there is a federal question, which is to say, a specific issue (such as consistency with the Federal Constitution) that gives cause for federal jurisdiction. Rulings of state supreme courts on such matters may be appealed directly to the Supreme Court of the United States.

One of the informal traditions of the American legal system is that all litigants are guaranteed at least one appeal after a final judgment on the merits (although the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to rule on whether this rule is required by the constitutional guarantee of due process). Since a few states lack intermediate appellate courts, the state supreme court operates under "mandatory review", in which it must hear all appeals from the trial courts. Such judicial systems are usually very congested.[1]

Most state supreme courts have implemented "discretionary review", like their federal counterpart. Under such a system, intermediate appellate courts are entrusted with deciding the vast majority of appeals. For certain limited categories o cases, the state supreme court still operates under mandatory review, usually with regard to cases involving the interpretation of the state constitution or capital punishment. But for the vast majority, the state supreme court possesses the discretion to grant certiorari (known as review in states that discourage the use of Latin). These cases are usually matters where different appellate courts within its jurisdiction have decided differently, or highly controversial cases involving a completely new legal issue never seen in that state.

Iowa has a unique procedure for appeals. In that state, all appeals are filed with the Supreme Court, which then keeps all cases of first impression for itself to decide. It forwards the remaining cases — which deal with points of law it has already addressed — to the intermediate Court of Appeals.

Answer 2

There are state supreme courts and the federal supreme court

Answer 3

Both, but the Federal Supreme court prevails.

Answer 4

States sometimes have their own supreme courts. Which are you referring to?