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1 month ago | 
statecourtreport.org | Kathrina Szymborski Wolfkot |Andrew Garber |Michael Milov-Cordoba |Sarah Kessler
Civic organizations and voters allege that Washington’s signature verification process for vote-by-mail ballots disproportionally disenfranchises minority voters, young voters, military personnel, voters with disabilities, and non-native English speakers, in violation of state constitutional voting rights protections. The plaintiffs and the state defendants are appealing their respective denials of summary judgment.
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Nov 19, 2024 | 
statecourtreport.org | Alice Clapman |Erin Smith |Andrew Garber |Michael Milov-Cordoba
Lawmakers asked voters to surrender some of their power to place issues directly on state ballots. Voters refused. Unlike in most democratic countries, United States citizens cannot weigh in on policy questions through a national referendum.
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Nov 19, 2024 | statecourtreport.org | Alice Clapman |Erin Smith |Andrew Garber |Michael Milov-Cordoba
Lawmakers asked voters to surrender some of their power to place issues directly on state ballots. Voters refused. Unlike in most democratic countries, United States citizens cannot weigh in on policy questions through a national referendum.
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Nov 12, 2024 | 
statecourtreport.org | Douglas Keith |Michael Milov-Cordoba |Eli Savit |Morgan Munroe
In February 2024, the Brennan Center for Justice, State Court Report, and the NYU Law Review hosted a symposium dedicated to state constitutional law. Several state supreme court justices who participated sat down for interviews with State Court Report. Among the questions we asked them was, “When you were younger, what was your dream career?”The answers were inspiring, illuminating, and surprising. Many of the state high court justices didn’t expect to become lawyers at all.
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Nov 7, 2024 | 
statecourtreport.org | Douglas Keith |Michael Milov-Cordoba |Eli Savit |Morgan Munroe
Key judicial races in other states brought an expanded Democratic majority in Michigan and solidified GOP control in Ohio. This post will be updated as results become official. Last updated on November 19, 2024. Voters in 29 states elected justices to 69 seats on their states’ highest courts this fall.
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Oct 15, 2024 | 
brennancenter.org | Michael Milov-Cordoba
State lawmakers frequently change judicial election rules with the goal of putting partisan or ideological allies on the bench. With nearly a quarter of the country’s 344 state supreme court justices on the ballot this year, those changes could have big implications in November’s election. The changes include making nonpartisan elections partisan, altering the composition of judicial nominating commissions, redrawing judicial districts, or creating new courts with jurisdiction over specific cases.
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Oct 10, 2024 | 
statecourtreport.org | Michael Milov-Cordoba |Eli Savit |Alicia Bannon |Gabriella Sanchez
State lawmakers frequently change judicial election rules with the goal of putting partisan or ideological allies on the bench. With nearly a quarter of the country’s 344 state supreme court justices on the ballot this year, those changes could have big implications in November’s election. The changes include making nonpartisan elections partisan, altering the composition of judicial nominating commissions, redrawing judicial districts, or creating new courts with jurisdiction over specific cases.
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Oct 1, 2024 | 
brennancenter.org | Michael Milov-Cordoba
Imposing term limits on the U.S. Supreme Court would be transformational, but far from radical. More than two-thirds of Americans believe the justices should serve for a fixed number of years rather than hold their positions for life. Indeed, the federal high court is a stark outlier when compared to state supreme courts. Like U.S. Supreme Court justices, state justices sit on apex courts and provide the final word on matters of statutory and constitutional law.
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Aug 1, 2024 | 
brennancenter.org | Alicia Bannon |Michael Milov-Cordoba
This is an excerpt from the Brennan Center report Supreme Court Term Limits. The Constitutionality of Implementation by StatuteArticle III, which structures the judicial branch, is sparsely detailed.
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Jun 21, 2024 | 
statecourtreport.org | Andrew Garber |Alice Clapman |Erin Smith |Michael Milov-Cordoba
The Kansas Supreme Court last month declared that the state constitution contains no fundamental right to vote, but emphasized that voting is a “political right” subject to strong constitutional protections. In League of Women Voters of Kansas v. Schwab, four nonpartisan civic engagement groups brought challenges to three parts of a 2021 election law.
