Judiciary
The judicial branch in most states is topped by a court of last resort usually called a supreme court that hears appeals from lower state courts. Oddly, New York's highest court is called the Court of Appeals, while its trial court is known as the Supreme Court. Maryland also calls its highest court the Court of Appeals. Texas and Oklahoma each separate courts of last resort for civil and criminal appeals. Each state's court has the last word on issues of state law and can only be overruled by federal courts on issues of Constitutional law.
The structure of courts and the methods of selecting judges is determined by each state's constitution or legislature. Most states have at least one trial-level court and an intermediate appeals court from which only some cases are appealed to the highest court.
Read more about this topic: State Governments Of The United States
Famous quotes containing the word judiciary:
“The judiciary has fallen to a very low state in this country. I think your part of the country has suffered especially. The federal judges of the South are a disgrace to any country, and I’ll be damned if I put any man on the bench of whose character and ability there is the least doubt.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)