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.
States with Partisan Elections
- Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia
States with Non-partisan Elections
- Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin
States with election by the Legislature
States with Appointment by the Governor
States using the Missouri Plan
- Alaska, California, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Utah, Wyoming
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
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