Jonathan L. Marshfield

Apr 30, 2024 | statecourtreport.org | Mary Ziegler |Alicia Bannon |Erin Smith |Jonathan L. Marshfield

State supreme courts have emerged as a major site of progress for those advancing reproductive rights, but the latest round of rulings has painted a more complex picture. Conservative state courts have dismantled existing precedents, revived laws passed before the Civil War, and seriously considered efforts to short-circuit otherwise valid ballot initiative campaigns. Some have even signaled an interest in recognizing fetuses as persons under state constitutions.

Feb 12, 2024 | statecourtreport.org | Jerry Dickinson |Kathrina Szymborski Wolfkot |Evan Zoldan |Jonathan L. Marshfield

Both historical and recent decisions show the Court’s willingness to apply state supreme courts’ reasoning to interpret the Constitution. When the U.S. Supreme Court struggles to find an appropriate source or applicable precedent when addressing vexing questions of federal constitutional law, it sometimes turns to state supreme courts for guidance.

Feb 6, 2024 | statecourtreport.org | Kathrina Szymborski Wolfkot |Evan Zoldan |Jonathan L. Marshfield |Martha Davis

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Thursday in an appeal of the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision barring Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot. But the lawsuit, Anderson v. Griswold, is far from the only effort to remove Trump from a state’s ballot. To date, there have been at least 50 such actions before courts or election officials filed across 35 states.

Jan 24, 2024 | statecourtreport.org | Evan Zoldan |Jonathan L. Marshfield |Martha Davis |Marcus Gadson

Single-subject requirements were used to strike down a Missouri law criminalizing homelessness and also helped undermine attempts to protect abortion access in other states. A recent Missouri case illustrates how state constitutional single-subject clauses can be used to prevent perverse policy outcomes — while also raising questions about how such provisions might be used to limit key ballot initiatives this year. In Byrd v.

Jan 23, 2024 | statecourtreport.org | Evan Zoldan |Martha Davis |Charles Gardner Geyh |Jonathan L. Marshfield

This article is the second in a State Court Report series on the major questions doctrine in the states. The first can be found here. The Texas Supreme Court has gestured toward the adoption of a major questions doctrine based on the federal model — but a close look at the state’s law and institutions reveals that the doctrine may not be a good fit for Texas. In West Virginia v.