Articles
PA Supreme Court Embraces “Per-Defendant” Basis for Calculating Punitive-to-Compensatory Damages Ratio
The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly declined to articulate a bright line rule capping the...
Illinois Supreme Court Rules Monetary Bail Not Required By Bail Clause in State Constitution
In July 2023, the Illinois Supreme Court issued a much-anticipated ruling in Rowe v. Raoul,...
Wisconsin Supreme Court Resolves Sentencing Credit Dispute & Clarifies Precedent About “Read-in” Counts
The idea behind sentencing credit sounds simple: an offender who is ultimately convicted gets credit...
Georgia Supreme Court Rules Certificates of Need Confer Private Rights
In Kennestone Hospital, Inc. v. Emory University, the Supreme Court of Georgia was asked to...
The Supreme Court of Texas Addresses Exception to State Anti-Abortion Law
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade,[1] the...
Indiana Supreme Court Recognizes State Constitutional Right to a Jury in Civil Forfeiture Actions
In State v. $2,435 in U.S. Currency, the Indiana Supreme Court unanimously held that Article...
Reverse Keyword Search Warrant Upheld at Colorado Supreme Court
A house fire in August 2020 in Denver killed a Senegalese family—three adults, a toddler,...
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Sides with Government in Nondelegation Case
In Robinhood Financial LLC v. Secretary of Commonwealth, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court sided...
Michigan Supreme Court Finds Confession of 18-Year-Old Inadmissible
The Michigan Supreme Court’s recent decision in People v. Stewart revisits the longstanding debate about...
Virginia Supreme Court Rules State Constitution Includes Expansive Protections of Religious Exercise
In Vlaming v. West Point School Board, a former teacher’s lawsuit was given new life...
In Wyoming, Supreme Court Rules Canine Sniffs Outside Vehicles Don’t Need Probable Cause
Last June, the Wyoming Supreme Court unanimously held that the Wyoming Constitution does not...
Supreme Court of Texas Holds Governor Can Preempt Local Mask Orders
The Covid-19 pandemic produced many interesting and important constitutional questions. From vaccine mandates[1] to student...
New Jersey Supreme Court Rules Police Need Wiretap Order to Access Nearly Real-Time Facebook Activity
New Jersey police officers sought to “compel Facebook to provide the contents of two users’...
Georgia Supreme Court Rules that State’s Heartbeat Law Is Not Void Ab Initio
In Georgia v. SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective,[1] the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that...
Utah Supreme Court Recognizes Fifth Amendment Right in Phone Passcodes
With each new development in communication and surveillance technology come new Fourth and Fifth Amendment...
California Supreme Court Holds That State Law Preempts County Anti-Fracking Ordinance
The issue in Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. County of Monterey, Calif. was whether California Public Resources Code § 3106 preempts a...
Ohio Law Allowing Judges to Impose Indefinite Sentences Upheld at State Supreme Court
In State v. Hacker,[1] the Ohio Supreme Court upheld, by a 5-2 decision, the constitutionality...
Georgia Supreme Court Rejects Sex Offender Registration Challenge, Re-Affirms Originalism Commitment
In May, the Supreme Court of Georgia unanimously rejected a facial and as-applied challenge to...