State supreme court

In the United States, the state supreme court (known as the supreme judicial court in some states) is usually the highest court in the state court system. (See also supreme court.)

Table of contents

1 Overview

1.1 States with Partisan Elections
1.2 States with Non-partisan Elections
1.3 States with election by the Legislature
1.4 States with Appointment by the Governor
1.5 States using the Missouri Plan

2 List of state supreme courts

Overview

Generally, the state supreme court is exclusively for appeals and holds no trials. The court consists of a panel of judges, either appointed by the state governor, or elected by the state legislature or the people for a limited term. Some states use what is known as the Missouri Plan under which the governor appoints a judge for a single term who must then receive voter approval for any successive terms.

Under the American system of 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 U.S. Constitution) that gives cause for federal court jurisdiction.

In New York and Maryland, the highest court of the state is called the Court of Appeals. (In New York, the name Supreme Court is used for a trial court.) In West Virginia, the highest court of the state is called the Supreme Court of Appeals. Oklahoma and Texas have two separate highest courts, one for criminal appeals and one for civil cases. The former is called the Court of Criminal Appeals. The latter is called the Supreme Court.

List of state supreme courts

Alabama Supreme Court
Alaska Supreme Court
Arizona Supreme Court
Arkansas Supreme Court
Supreme Court of California
Colorado Supreme Court
Connecticut Supreme Court (formerly the Supreme Court of Errors)
Delaware Supreme Court (formerly the Supreme Court of Errors and Appeals)
District of Columbia Court of Appeals (formerly the Municipal Court of Appeals)
Florida Supreme Court
Georgia Supreme Court
Hawaii Supreme Court
Idaho Supreme Court
Illinois Supreme Court
Indiana Supreme Court
Iowa Supreme Court
Kansas Supreme Court
Kentucky Supreme Court (formerly the Court of Appeals)
Louisiana Supreme Court (formerly the Superior Court of Louisiana and the Superior Court of the Territory of Orleans)
Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Maryland Court of Appeals
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
Michigan Supreme Court
Minnesota Supreme Court
Mississippi Supreme Court
Missouri Supreme Court
Montana Supreme Court
Nebraska Supreme Court
Nevada Supreme Court
New Hampshire Supreme Court
New Jersey Supreme Court (formerly the Court of Errors and Appeals)
New Mexico Supreme Court
New York Court of Appeals (highest NY state court)
North Carolina Supreme Court
North Dakota Supreme Court
Ohio Supreme Court
Oklahoma Supreme Court
Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals (formerly the Criminal Court of Appeals)
Oregon Supreme Court
Pennsylvania Supreme Court
Rhode Island Supreme Court
South Carolina Supreme Court
South Dakota Supreme Court
Tennessee Supreme Court
Texas Supreme Court
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (formerly the Court of Appeals)
Utah Supreme Court
Vermont Supreme Court
Virginia Supreme Court (formerly the Supreme Court of Appeals)
Washington Supreme Court
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals
Wisconsin Supreme Court
Wyoming Supreme Court

High Court of American Samoa
District Court of Guam, Appellate Division
Navajo Nation Supreme Court (formerly the Court of Appeals)
Northern Mariana Islands Supreme Court
Puerto Rico Supreme Court