Reinman v. Little Rock

In Reinman v. Little Rock, 237 U.S. 171 (1915), the sole question involved was the validity of a municipal ordinance which the state court had sustained against the objection that it was in conflict with the Constitution of the United States. Mr. Justice Pitney again speaking for the entire court said, p. 176: "The decision of the state court of last resort is conclusive upon the point that the ordinance under consideration is within the scope of the powers conferred by the state legislature upon the city council of Little Rock. It must therefore be treated, for the purposes of our jurisdiction, as an act of legislation proceeding from the law-making power of the State; for a municipal ordinance passed under authority delegated by the legislature is a state law within the meaning of the Federal Constitution; and any enactment, from whatever source originating, to which a State gives the force of law, is a statute of the State within the meaning of Judicial Code, 237, which confers jurisdiction upon this court. Atlantic Coast Line v. Goldsboro, 232 U.S. 548, 555, and cases cited."