It depends. If they involve a federal question, they can request review by the US Supreme Court.
If they only involve state law, the State's highest court is the end of the line.
It depends. If they involve a federal question, they can request review by the US Supreme Court.
If they only involve state law, the State's highest court is the end of the line.
The Supreme Court hears three kinds of cases. Cases appealed from lower federal courts account for two-thirds of the cases they hear. They also hear cases appealed from state's supreme courts, and sometimes hear cases that have not been previously heard by a lower court, such as between one state's government and another.
Judicial.
The Supreme Court is the highest of the federal courts. Cases from the court of appeals in each circuit and from the state supreme courts can be appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court can "reach down" to the lower courts and hear that case, or, it can hear a case on appeal from the lower federal courts or highest state courts, at the Supreme Court's discretion.
Cases that begin in the state court system are usually resolved in the state court system, many being disposed by plea bargains before they get to trial. Only a tiny fraction of cases that begin in a state judiciary are appealed or removed to the federal judiciary.
The state Courts of Appeal review and render decisions on cases appealed to them from the lower circuits of the state court system. No actual jury trials are held at this level, they simply review the cases for legal sufficiency and render a verdict either affirming them or remanding them back to the lower courts for re-trial. State Supreme Courts hear all cases which have been appealed past the circuit court and appelate levels and - like the appeals court - no jury trials are held in front of them either although the opposing lawyers for both sides can appear and deliver their respective arguments. Cases appealed to the state Supreme Court have reached their highest level at this point and the State Supreme Court's decision is final and binding. Cases can move out of the state courts system into the Federal court system ONLY if the case involves or contains some over-riding interest in, or conflict with, Federal law.
The trial phase ends at the US District Court level (or equivalent state trial court). Appeals to the federal US Court of Appeals Circuit Courts (or intermediate state appellate courts) are based on questions of process, law or constitutionality. The case is not retried; appellate courts do not render decisions about the defendants' guilt or innocence.After the intermediate appellate courts, federal cases may be petitioned to the US Supreme Court; state cases may be appealed to the state supreme court (or equivalent). If a state case involves a preserved federal question (matter or federal or constitutional law) it may be appealed to the US Supreme Court after the state supreme court hears or denies hearing on the case.Both the US Supreme Court and state supreme courts (or equivalent) have discretion over which cases they hear (although state supreme courts may have mandatory jurisdiction over certain cases, such as death penalty cases).
It depends on the setup of your state's judicial system. In some states, cases heard by a magistrate or other lower court can be appealed to a court of common pleas, or "general trial court". Generally, however, cases are appealed to appellate courts and not to trial courts.
The Supreme Court hears any cases that involve the interpretation of the Constitution.
The highest state court would be The Supreme Court of Texas. In federal cases it would be the US Circuit Court of Appeals for whatever Federal Judicial Circuit the state of Texas was located in.
In the U.S. there are two court systems, one at the federal level, and each state has its own courts. Federal cases that originated in lower courts can be appealed to higher federal courts that handle appeals. The highest court of appeals in the federal system is the United States Supreme Court. It is rare for cases to ever actually go this far. Each state is free to create its own court system, but most simply copy the federal system. Decisions by local courts may be appealed to that state's higher courts, often called a superior court or state supreme court.
The difference is the type of case each court has jurisdiction over. The Supreme Court of Texas is the state's highest appellate court for civil and juvenile cases; the Court of Criminal Appeals is the state's highest appellate court for criminal cases.
No, but they CAN be appealed to the State Court of Appeals.