Glossary
Supreme Court
The highest court in a court system. The U.S. Supreme Court is the highest court for federal law. Each state also has a supreme court (sometimes called the Court of Appeals or Court of Last Resort) that's the final word on state law.
The U.S. Supreme Court has nine justices, hears about 60-80 cases per year out of the roughly 7,000 it's asked to take, and its decisions bind every other court in the country on federal law issues.
State supreme courts vary in size (typically 5-9 justices) and process, but their role is similar: they have the final word on what their state's constitution and laws mean.
A common confusion: New York's "Supreme Court" is actually its trial court. Its highest court is the Court of Appeals. Most other states use the more intuitive naming.