Law Commons^™

Judicial Federalism And Supreme Court Review Of State Court Decisions: A Sensible Balance Emerges, David A. Schlueter

Faculty Articles

State courts are free to exercise final authority as arbiters of state law and adopt state standards that protect individual rights more than federal law. While state courts have responded to such urgings with expansive rulings, they have not always been careful about spelling out in their decisions whether they were relying on state law, federal law, or both. This judicial imprecision creates a jurisdictional dilemma for the Supreme Court when it is asked to review the state court decision. If the state's decision rests on independent and adequate state grounds, the Court will apply judicial restraint and decline review. …