United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

John v. Paullin, 231 U.S. 583 (1913)

John v. Paullin

No. 105

Argued December 8, 9, 1913

Decided December 22, 1913

231 U.S. 583

Syllabus

No federal right is denied by an appellate court of a state in dismissing an appeal from a lower court because its jurisdiction was not invoked in accordance with the laws of the state, and this Court cannot review such a judgment under § 709, Rev.Stat., now Judicial Code, § 237.

It rests with each state to prescribe the jurisdiction of its appellate courts, and the mode of invoking it, and their rules are equally applicable when federal, as when only local, rights are involved.

Section 12 of the Act of March 3, 1905, 33 Stat. 1048, 1081, providing for the review of judgments of the courts temporarily established in the Indian Territory, related only to such judgments, and has no application to judgments rendered by the state courts after statehood.

The method of subjecting the judgments of a subordinate state court to review by appellate courts of the state is a matter of local concern, and not within the control of Congress. Coyle v. Smith, 221 U. S. 559.

Page 231 U. S. 584

In this case, as nothing was decided but a preliminary question of the jurisdiction of a state appellate court which turned entirely upon a question of local law, the writ of error is dismissed.

Writ of error to review 24 Okl. 636 dismissed.

The facts, which involve the jurisdiction of this Court under § 237 of the judicial Code to review a judgment of the appellate court of a state dismissing an appeal from an inferior court, are stated in the opinion.