The Supreme Court will not take a case if:

• A. The decision rests on a purely state-law issue with no federal question
• B. The decision rests on both state and federal grounds
• C. The decision rests only on federal Grounds
• D. The decision rests on a foreign law issue

Answer: (B)

Jurisdiction to review cases at the Supreme Court depends on a federal question. The Court generally can hear cases that involve federal law, the Constitution, or treaties. If a decision rests entirely on state-law issues with no federal question, the Court does not have jurisdiction to review it.

So, when a lower court’s ruling is based purely on state law, there’s no federal question to spark the Supreme Court’s involvement, and certiorari would not be granted on that basis. If a case includes both state and federal grounds, the federal issue is present, and the Court would have jurisdiction to review. If a case rests on federal grounds alone, the Court can review it, and a foreign-law issue alone doesn't typically authorize Supreme Court review absent a federal question.