Melvin Jefferson, Individually and As Administrator of the Estate of Alberta K. Jefferson, Deceased, et al. v. City of Tarrant, Alabama (522 U.S. 75)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided December 9, 1997 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 522 U.S. 75 · 118 S. Ct. 481
- Decided
- December 9, 1997
- Term
- October Term 1997
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority author
- Justice Ginsburg
- Issue area
- Judicial Power
- Disposition
- Petition denied or appeal dismissed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Ginsburg delivered the opinion of the Court. This ease, still sub judice in Alabama, was brought to this Court too soon. We granted certiorari to consider whether the Alabama Wrongful Death Act, Ala. Code § 6-5-410 (1993), governs recovery when a decedent’s estate claims, under 42 U. S. C. § 1988, that the death in question resulted from a deprivation of federal rights. We do not decide that issue, however, because we conclude that we lack jurisdiction at the current stage of the proceedings. Congress has limited our review of state-court decisions to “[fjinal judgments or decrees rendered by the highest court of a State in which a decision could be had.” 28 U. S. C. § 1257(a). The decision we confront does not qualify as a “final judgment” within the meaning of § 1257(a). The Alabama Supreme Court decided the federal-law issue on an interlocutory certification from the trial court, then remanded the cause for further proceedings on petitioners’ remaining state-law claims. The outcome of those further proceedings could moot the federal question we agreed to decide. If the federal question does not become moot, petitioners will be free to seek our review when the state-court proceedings reach an end. We accordingly dismiss the writ for want of a final judgment. I Petitioners commenced this action against the city of Tarrant, Alabama (City), to recover damages for the…
Excerpt of a 13,907-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.