Charles Evans Hughes

“ It may be surmised, from the quotations in its opinion, that the Appellate Division intended to rest its decision upon a determination of the application of the Fourteenth Amendment, and that the affirmance by the Court of Appeals went upon the same ground, and not upon the nonfederal ground of the application of the Constitution and laws of the state. But jurisdiction cannot be founded upon surmise. Nor can claim of jurisdiction be sustained by reference to briefs and statements which are not part of the record. ”

“ Where the judgment of the state court rests on two grounds, one involving a federal question and the other not, or if it does not appear upon which of two grounds the judgment was based, and the ground independent of a federal question is sufficient in itself to sustain it, this Court will not take jurisdiction. ”