The final-judgment principle ordinarily delays appeal until the trial court has completed the case. This avoids fragmented review of every interim ruling. Statutes and doctrines permit some interlocutory appeals, but they are exceptions rather than a general second opportunity after each motion. A scenario describing a party attempting to appeal every pretrial disagreement should trigger the question whether the order is presently appealable.

A state judgment may rest on both federal and state law. If an adequate and independent state ground fully supports the result, resolving the federal question would not change the judgment, so Supreme Court review is ordinarily unavailable. This rule preserves the state court's final authority over state law and prevents an advisory federal ruling.

For example, a state's highest court might reject a claim because it was filed after a valid, consistently applied state deadline and also discuss the federal issue. If the state deadline independently requires dismissal, a Supreme Court ruling on the federal issue would not change the outcome. By contrast, if the state court's result depends on its interpretation of the First Amendment, the federal question can supply a route to Supreme Court review after the state process is complete and the issue was properly preserved.

Original and appellate jurisdiction describe the court's posture, not whether a case is civil or criminal and not whether the court is important. A district court conducting a federal criminal trial exercises original jurisdiction. A court of appeals reviewing that conviction exercises appellate jurisdiction.

Appellate jurisdiction also differs from the standard of review. Jurisdiction answers whether the appellate court may hear the appeal. The standard of review determines how closely it reexamines a particular ruling once the appeal is properly before it.

It also differs from certiorari. Certiorari is the principal discretionary device through which the Supreme Court selects cases within its appellate jurisdiction. A court can possess appellate jurisdiction yet decline discretionary review. Authority to hear is not a promise to hear.

Retrieval check. Trace the lawful route for a federal constitutional claim decided by a state's highest court. Why does the route not pass through a federal district court?

The route runs from the state system to the U.S. Supreme Court on the federal question. Starting again in a federal district court would wrongly treat that trial court as an appellate reviewer of the state judgment.

Video lesson: Structure of the Court System: Crash Course Government and Politics #19