Steever v. Rickman was a United States Supreme Court case that dealt with the issue of whether a state court had the authority to issue a writ of mandamus to a county court. The case arose when the plaintiff, Steever, sought to have the county court issue a writ of mandamus to the defendant, Rickman, who was the county clerk. Steever argued that the county court had the authority to issue the writ, while Rickman argued that the state court had exclusive jurisdiction over the matter. The Supreme Court ultimately sided with Steever, ruling that the county court had the authority to issue the writ of mandamus. The Court reasoned that the state court had no jurisdiction over the matter, as the writ of mandamus was a matter of local law. The Court further noted that the state court had no authority to interfere with the county court's decision. In conclusion, the Supreme Court ruled that the county court had the authority to issue the writ of mandamus, and that the state court had no jurisdiction over the matter. This ruling established that county courts have the authority to issue writs of mandamus in matters of local law.

In Steever v. Rickman, the Supreme Court was tasked with deciding whether a state court had jurisdiction to hear an appeal from a decision of the United States Circuit Court for the District of Columbia. The majority opinion held that it did not have such jurisdiction and thus affirmed the judgment of dismissal entered by the circuit court. Justice Field dissented, arguing that under Article III Section 2 Clause 1 of the Constitution, Congress has granted state courts concurrent jurisdiction in cases arising under federal law when they involve citizens or residents of different states. He further argued that since this case involved two parties who were both citizens and residents of different states, then there was no reason why it should not be heard by both courts concurrently as provided for in Article III Section 2 Clause 1.