Chihiro Isozaki

Oct 7, 2024 | brennancenter.org | Chihiro Isozaki

State judges are speaking out against originalism — a method of constitutional interpretation that focuses on “history and tradition” as a basis for assessing constitutional rights. In doing so, they both echo federal judges’ arguments and raise state-specific concerns of their own. The U.S. Supreme Court has radically changed American law under the banner of originalism. In Dobbs v.

Aug 22, 2024 | brennancenter.org | Chihiro Isozaki

Last summer, the Supreme Court struck down race-based affirmative action in college admissions. The ruling set off an ongoing chain of attacks on efforts to advance civil rights and social justice across a broad array of sectors, blocking some and chilling more.

Jun 7, 2024 | statecourtreport.org | Kyle C. Barry |David Brown |Gabe Roth |Chihiro Isozaki

A new resource from the State Law Research Initiative lets users sort the nation’s high court justices by state, professional background, party affiliation, and more. As state courts assume a greater role in shaping legal rights across a range of issues — including abortion access, climate change, voting rights, equality for trans people, and the limits of criminal punishments — it’s crucial to know who is empowered to make these profoundly important rulings.

Jun 5, 2024 | statecourtreport.org | David Brown |Douglas Keith |Gabriella Sanchez |Chihiro Isozaki

Cyberattacks targeting state and local courts are growing in frequency and intensity, as hackers attempt to steal sensitive data, demand ransoms, and sow chaos. Over the last 18 months, court systems and related agencies like public defenders, prosecutors, and county clerks have been forced offline in Pennsylvania, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Mississippi, Colorado, and Ohio. The worst recent attack, on the Kansas court system last October, took four months and millions of dollars to overcome.

May 24, 2024 | statecourtreport.org | Douglas Keith |Gabriella Sanchez |Alicia Bannon |Chihiro Isozaki

More data and further scholarship is needed to devise policies for promoting a state bench that adequately represents the varied background of the public. State supreme courts across the United States fail to reflect the diversity of the communities they serve. This lack of diversity mirrors and perpetuates broader systemic inequalities within our judicial system.