"The California judge would probably not have the authority to refer to the Federal Constitution ; it would have to be taken to the Federal Courts for that ."
"State courts can rule based on state and/or federal law . In this case , the answer was found in the state constitution , so the judge did not need to pursue the issue further . Also , a state constitution can offer more protection that the federal one , as long as , in so doing , it does not contradict the federal constitution ."
"The California judge not have the authority to refer to the Federal Constitution it would have to be taken to the Federal Courts"
"State courts can rule based on state and/or federal law . the judge did not need to pursue the issue further a state constitution can offer more protection that the federal one"