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2 weeks ago | 
statecourtreport.org | Marcus Gadson |Alicia Bannon |Amy Stainback Myrick |Alexander Wilson
The state’s 55-year-old constitution offers progressive protections like a right to education while retaining elements of state-sponsored efforts to prevent Black progress in the post-Reconstruction era. This essay is part of a 50-state series about the nation’s constitutions. We’ve asked an expert from each state to dive into their constitution, narrate its history, identify its quirks, and summarize its most essential components for our readers.
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Jul 18, 2024 | 
statecourtreport.org | Marcus Gadson |Erin Smith |Quinn Yeargain |Kathrina Szymborski Wolfkot
Courts considering removal of Confederate monuments have ignored southern states’ historic commitments to maintaining national unity and respecting racial equality. More than 150 years after slavery ended, southern states are still debating whether it is appropriate to continue celebrating white supremacy and slavery through monuments and other public symbols — and make the descendants of enslaved people contribute their tax dollars to the effort.
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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.
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Nov 6, 2023 | 
statecourtreport.org | Ciara Torres-Spelliscy |Marcus Gadson |Michael Milov-Cordoba
The interplay between state and federal drug laws is at the center of the case. For the second time in three years, the Florida Supreme Court will decide whether voters will get a chance to legalize adult use of cannabis by state constitutional amendment. Back in 2021, the same court said no. Will this time be different?
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Oct 23, 2023 | 
statecourtreport.org | Marcus Gadson |Michael Milov-Cordoba |Michael Li
In analyzing the myriad legal issues facing American democracy, commentators tend to focus on the U.S. Constitution and other important federal sources of election law. But states are the primary regulators of elections, and their charters do much of the work to establish and protect the right to vote.
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Oct 2, 2023 | 
statecourtreport.org | Marcus Gadson |Martha Davis |Michael Milov-Cordoba |Alicia Bannon
In August, Washington State voters recalled three school board members who made masking in a district’s public schools optional even though state law at the time made masking mandatory. The recall effort took more than a year and resulted in the state supreme court making an important decision interpreting the state constitution’s guarantee that citizens can recall elected officials.
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Sep 12, 2023 | 
statecourtreport.org | Amanda Powers |Marcus Gadson |Alicia Bannon |Douglas Keith
We’re excited to introduce you to State Court Report, a nonpartisan source for news, resources, and commentary focused on state courts and state constitutional development. It’s the first and only website dedicated to covering state constitutional cases and trends in high courts across the 50 states. All too often, popular commentary has treated the U.S. Supreme Court as the only word that matters on constitutional rights.
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Jun 26, 2023 | 
brennancenter.org | Alicia Bannon |Martha Davis |Marcus Gadson
View the entire State Court Report collection You’re reading the State Court Report newsletter. Click here to receive it in your inbox twice a month. This month, the Ohio Supreme Court gave the go-ahead for an August special election on a proposed amendment to make it harder to amend the Ohio Constitution.
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May 22, 2023 | 
brennancenter.org | Miriam Seifter |Marcus Gadson
View the entire State Court Report collection Welcome to my first scholarship roundup for State Court Report. These roundups will cover notable recent legal scholarship on state courts, state constitutions, and the broader field of state public law. Please feel free to send new work or suggestions — I’m always on the lookout for more to read and share in these areas. A scholarship roundup on state public law may sound unlikely. After all, the legal academy has long neglected state public law.
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May 19, 2023 | 
brennancenter.org | Gabriella Sanchez |Marcus Gadson
View the entire State Court Report collection Last Friday, the Montana Supreme Court struck down a state law barring advanced practice registered nurses from performing abortions. The court unanimously held that by restricting the availability of abortion care without any legitimate health risks, the state had violated Montanans’ fundamental right under the state constitution to seek abortion care from the qualified provider of their choosing.
