United State Supreme Court

The United States Supreme Court is the highest court. The U.S. Supreme Court may only overrule or overturn a state court decision when there exists a federal question. In California criminal law, a federal question is typically raised when the action of the state court violated the Constitution of the United States. Pursuant to a doctrine know as federalism, the interpretation of matters of state law is not within the appellate jurisdiction of the United States Supreme Court and are left to the California Court of Appeal or California Supreme Court to decide.