Pennsylvania v. Ritchie

Justice Stevens,

with whom Justice Brennan, Justice Marshall, and Justice Scalia join, dissenting.

We are a Court of limited jurisdiction. One of the basic limits that Congress has imposed upon us is that we may only review “[f]inal judgments or decrees rendered by the highest court of a State in which a decision could be had.” 28 U. S. C. § 1257. The purposes of this restriction are obvious, and include notions of efficiency, judicial restraint, and federalism. See Construction Laborers v. Curry, 371 U. S. 542, 550 (1963); Radio Station WOW, Inc. v. Johnson, 326 U. S. 120, 124 (1945). Over the…