When does the US Supreme Court have appellate jurisdiction?

Answer 1

Generally, the Supreme Court has final appellate jurisdiction over both State and federal cases involving preserved federal questions.

Translation: "Preserved" means the question appealed to the Supreme Court has been raised at trial and at each subsequent appeal. "Federal questions" are matters involving federal laws, federal policies, executive (presidential) orders, US treaties, and the US Constitution.

More Information

Under special circumstances, the Court may hear cases directly from the US District Courts on direct or expeditedappeal (the case goes straight from US District Court to the Supreme Court, bypassing the US Courts of Appeals), usually because it involves a high-ranking federal official or involves challenged legislation for which Congress specified an expedited appeals process.

Exceptions involve any types of dispute or action where Congress has stripped jurisdiction from the Supreme Court and given it to a different federal court. For example, Congress stripped the Supreme Court's jurisdiction over writs of habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees during the Bush Administration, assigning jurisdiction to the US District Court for the District of Columbia. This legislation has since been declared unconstitutional because the detainees were being denied due process.

The US Supreme Court may considers cases from state courts if the case involves a "preserved federal question" provided all other appellate options have been exhausted. This includes cases heard or denied hearing by state supreme courts.