Last resort

A court, such as the U.S. Supreme Court, from which there is no further appeal of a judgment rendered by it in review of a decision in a civil or criminal action by a lower court.

In most jurisdictions, the state's court of last resort is called the supreme court. This name differs in some jurisdictions, however. For example, the court of last resort in New York is the New York Court of Appeals, while the trial-level court is called the Supreme Court. In Texas, the court of last resort for civil trials is the Texas Supreme Court, but the highest court for criminal appeals is the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The state of Texas is rather unusual because it employs two courts of last resort to hear appeals.

---

LAST RESORT. A court of last resort, is one which decides, definitely, without appeal or writ of error, or any other examination whatever, a suit or action, or some other matter, which has been submitted to its judgment, and over which it has jurisdiction.
     2. The supreme court is a court of last resort in all matters which legally come before it; and whenever a court possesses the power to decide without appeal or other examination whatever, a subject matter submitted to it, it is a court of last resort; but this is not to be understood as preventing an examination into its jurisdiction, or excess of authority, for then the judgment of a superior does not try and decide so much whether the point decided has been so done according to law, as to try the authority of the inferior court.