Articles
New York and Maine High Courts Review State Financing of Schools
In the last year, the highest courts in New York and Maine issued important rulings...
Missouri Looks to Reform the Missouri Plan
Missouri’s judicial selection process— known as the “Missouri Court Plan”—has been the subject of intense...
Nevada Legislature Passes Proposal to Change Judicial Selection Process
Presently, judges in Nevada are selected through contested, non-partisan elections. However, earlier this year the...
Proposals to End Judicial Elections in Minnesota
The subject of judicial selection has received considerable attention in Minnesota this year. There are...
Is the Tennessee Plan Constitutional?
Since 1994, the elections of judges for eight-year terms to the Tennessee Supreme Court have...
Judicial Selection Litigation in New York
As this series of articles demonstrates, judicial selection is a hot topic in many states...
Gay Marriage Update: Iowa & Maryland
Gay marriage litigation continues throughout the several states. Recently a trial court in Iowa struck...
Missouri Supreme Court Unanimously Upholds Statute In Part Creating Civil Liability for Abortion Providers
In 2005, the Missouri legislature enacted a statutory provision that created civil liability for any...
Missouri and New Jersey Courts Reject “Market Share” Liability for Lead Paint Manufacturers
Three recent state court decisions have rejected the theory of “market share” liability in nuisance...
Michigan Supreme Court Upholds Voter Photo ID Law
On July 18, 2007, the Michigan Supreme Court upheld a provision of Michigan election law...
Parental Law in the States: Maryland, Minnesota, Pennsylvania
This article reviews recent state court cases in the area of family law which concern...
Tribal Sovereign Immunity Does Not Bar California’s Suit over Campaign Contribution Disclosure Violations
Relying upon the Tenth Amendment and the Guarantee Clause of the U.S. Constitution, the California...
Court Bars California Governments from Retaining Private Contingency-Fee Counsel in Nuisance Suits
In a case with national significance, a local Santa Clara County Superior Court judge ruled...
Washington Supreme Court: Laws Suspending Licenses & Regulating Ergonomics Upheld
In Amunrud v. Board of Appeals (Wash. 2006), the Washington Supreme Court upheld (6 to...
Carey v. Wolnitzek and the Future of Kentucky Judicial Elections
Just before Election Day (2006), the United States District Court for the Eastern District of...
Missouri Supreme Court Rejects Voter ID Law
Missouri has had a serious and recurring problem with multiple-cast and fraudulent ballots, and general...
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Upholds Fetal Homicide Act
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Matthew Bullock,1 unanimously upheld the...
Extraterritorial Application of State Antitrust Law Rejected in Texas
In late October 2006, the Supreme Court of Texas handed down a decision with important...
Ohio Supreme Court Upholds Charter School Law
In 1997, Ohio enacted a public charter school program, allowing parents, primarily those living in...
Alabama Supreme Court Considers Companion Separation of Powers Challenges
In 1998, the Alabama Legislature established a program of “Community Services Grants.”1 Criticized by some...
Gay Marriage in the State Courts: New Jersey
Gay marriage litigation continues to occur in several states. On October 25, 2006 the Supreme...
Georgia Supreme Court Strikes Down Asbestos Litigation Reform
The Supreme Court of Georgia, in DaimlerChrysler Corp. et al v. Ferrante et al,1 unanimously...
Missouri Supreme Court Extends Workers Compensation Litigation
Fred Schoemehl sustained an on-the-job knee injury in May 2001, and filed a claim for...
Washington Union Fees Law Goes to Supreme Court
The United States Supreme Court will decide this term an important case involving the use...
California Supreme Court to Consider Partisan Government Campaigning
The California Supreme Court currently has before it a case involving the question of whether...
New York Court of Appeals Rules on Contraception Case
Seeking to advance women’s health and their overall treatment on terms equal to men, the...
Missouri High Court Finds Constitutional Right To Collective Bargaining for Public Sector Employees
In 2002, the Independence, Missouri school board adopted new terms of employment for the employees...
South Carolina Supreme Court Creates New Duty of Medical Care Providers to Non-Patients
Last year, in Hardee v. Bio-Medical Applications of S.C., Inc., the Supreme Court of South...
Washington Supreme Court Upholds Talk Show Hosts’ Right to Free Speech
In San Juan County, et al v. No New Gas Tax, the Washington Supreme Court...
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals Finds Significant Economic Presence Test Better Indicator for Nexus than Physical Presence Requirement
Nexus has been a vexing issue for the business community and state revenue departments for...
Judicial Recess Appointments: A Survey of the Arguments -- An Addendum
On December 31, 2007 the Senate adjourned sine die, concluding its first session. In 2004,...
Selection to the Kansas Supreme Court
Kansas is the only state in the union that gives the members of its bar...
A Court Unbound? The Recent Jurisprudence of the Wisconsin Supreme Court
Public commentary about the Wisconsin Supreme Court as "activist" began in the wake of the...
Sordid Business: The Supreme Court Confronts the Constitutionality of Racial Preferences in K-12 Education
The Chief Justice’s words, written in the context of a congressional redistricting case, are equally...
The Modern Role of State Attorneys General: A Renewed Activism
This paper describes the traditional role of the state attorneys general and contrasts that traditional...