Nonfederal grounds refers to a case, area, situation, or even a piece of property that is outside of federal jurisdiction or where a federal law or entity is not the primary authority.
For example, the Supreme Court will hear a case from a state court only if the judgment of the state court turned on federal grounds. The Supreme Court will not have jurisdiction if it finds grounds for a judgment based on adequate and independent state grounds to support the state decision.
[Last updated in July of 2023 by the Wex Definitions Team]
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