Articles
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...
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Upholds Ordinance Prohibiting the Discharging of Firearms
In the evolving legal landscape of Second Amendment rights, the case of Barris v. Stroud...
Hawaii Supreme Court Rejects Bruen as Inconsistent With “Aloha Spirit”
In a recent opinion, the Supreme Court of Hawaii held that the Hawaii state constitution...
Originalism, Ballot Initiatives, and Abortion in Florida
With its June 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, the U.S. Supreme Court...
Indiana Supreme Court Upholds Law Restricting Which Candidates Can Appear on Primary Ballots
Indiana requires candidates on a primary election ballot to demonstrate party affiliation by either (1)...
Arizona Supreme Court Rules Republican Challenge to State Hand Count Procedures Was Not Groundless
In Arizona Republican Party v. Stephen Richer, the Arizona Supreme Court examined whether sanctions imposed...
New York High Court Orders New Maps Before Election
On December 12, 2023, the New York State Court of Appeals (New York’s highest court)...
IVF and the Original Meaning of "Minor Child" at the Alabama Supreme Court
Lepage v. Center for Reproductive Medicine was decided by the Alabama Supreme Court on...
Florida Supreme Court Clarifies Meaning of “Riot” in the Combating Public Disorder Act
It’s not often that a judicial decision is celebrated as a “monumental victory” by...
Florida Supreme Court Approves Ballot Initiative to Legalize Recreational Use of Marijuana
In Advisory Opinion to the Attorney General Re: Adult Personal Use of Marijuana, the...
Washington Supreme Court Rejects a Constitutional Right to Park
The west coast is no longer waiting for the Supreme Court to opine on...
Standing Doctrine and Original Meaning at the Alabama Supreme Court
Within certain limits,[1] our federalist system leaves states free to give their branches of...
Oklahoma Supreme Court: Old Causes of Actions Will Not Support New Reparations Claims
In 1921, the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma, witnessed a terrible and tragic massacre. A...
Arizona Supreme Court Upholds Abortion Ban from 1864
In late 2022, Arizona’s Pima County Superior Court ruled that, in the wake of...
Idaho Supreme Court Clarifies Right to Jury in Landlord-Tenant Dispute
Article I, section 7 of the Idaho Constitution guarantees that “[t]he right of trial by...
Florida Supreme Court Affirms Constitutional Power of Governor to Suspend Rogue Prosecutors
Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis, suspended Monique Worrell from her position as the State Attorney for...
Texas Court Confronts Misleading Political Communications and the First Amendment
Can states prohibit “misleading” political communications? Not if the First Amendment has anything to say...
Church, State, and Charter Schools: The Fight Over Faith-Based Public Education in Oklahoma
In 1999, Oklahoma enacted the Oklahoma Charter Schools Act (Act).[1] Its purpose was multi-faceted:...
Massachusetts High Court Strikes Down Switchblade Ban under Bruen
In Commonwealth v. Canjura,[1] the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court addressed whether the state's prohibition on...
Ohio Supreme Court Rules a Bone in “Boneless” Wing Doesn’t Make a Food Supplier Negligent
In Berkheimer v. REKM, L.L.C.,[1] the Ohio Supreme Court determined that the presence of a...
Iowa Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to K-9’s Brief Contact With Car During Sniff
In State v. Bauler, the Iowa Supreme Court considered whether the U.S. or Iowa...
Arbitration Unconscionability and Severability In California
On July 15, 2024, the California Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Ramirez v....
Iowa’s Constitution Provides a Legislative Privilege Despite Lacking a Speech or Debate Clause
A civil rights organization, the League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa (LULAC),...
South Carolina Supreme Court Holds Unconstitutional Law Providing State Funds to Students for Private School Expenses
The South Carolina Legislature passed the Education Scholarship Trust Fund Act (ESTF) to “provide scholarships...
Unrecorded Deeds and Adverse Possession at the Tennessee Supreme Court
You may remember the typical requirements for making an adverse possession claim from law...
Pandemic Orders and the Right to Earn a Living in North Carolina
In March of 2020—during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic—North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper...
Challenge to New York Ballot Canvassing Law Thrown Out by State High Court
On October 31, 2024, in Amedure v. State, the New York State Court of Appeals...
Nebraska Supreme Court Rejects Single-Subject Challenge to Law Limiting “Gender Altering” Procedures and Abortions
Does a bill that limits gender-altering procedures and abortions “contain more than one subject”?...
Illinois Supreme Court Addresses Expectations of Privacy in Hospital Trauma Rooms
In People v. Turner, the Supreme Court of Illinois addressed the issue of whether an...
Montana Supreme Court Strikes Down Parental Consent Abortion Law
Twenty-seven states require parental consent for a minor to have an abortion.[1] And fifteen...
No Standing in Challenge to Legislature’s Appropriation of Federal Funds to Private Schools Says Mississippi Supreme Court
Midsouth Association of Independent Schools v. Parents for Public Schools was a challenge to...
Ohio Supreme Court Rules Police Can Extend Traffic Stops to Verify Driver’s License
The Ohio Supreme Court’s decision in State v. Dunlap arose from a routine traffic stop...
California Supreme Court Upholds Prop 22, Allows App-Based Drivers to Keep Working as Contractors
After years of litigation, the California Supreme Court upheld Proposition 22, a ballot initiative allowing app-based...
Michigan Supreme Court Rules on Distinction Between Rules and Informal Policy Statements
When does an agency’s action carry the force of law and bind both the...
Is Voting in Kansas a Fundamental Right? Kansas Supreme Court Weighs In
Those who do not spend their days thinking about election law may be surprised to...
Supreme Judicial Court Streamlines Massachusetts Anti-SLAPP Motions
In Bristol Asphalt, Co. v. Rochester Bituminous Products, Inc., the Supreme Judicial Court of...
Ohio Supreme Court Overrules “Lockstepping” Precedent, Finds State Constitution’s Open Courts Provision Applies to Juvenile Court Proceedings
Since Ohio joined the Union in 1803, its state constitution has provided that “All...
Nebraska Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality of Felon Re-Enfranchisement
In State ex rel. Spung v. Evnen, the Nebraska Supreme Court rejected a constitutional...
Separation of Powers and Prisoner Execution in Texas
On November 15, 2024, the Texas Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in In re...
Understanding Jussie Smollett’s Appellate Win
Late last year, the Supreme Court of Illinois overturned former actor Jussie Smollett’s hate-crime hoax...
FOID Cards and the Second Amendment at the Illinois Supreme Court
On September 19, 2024, the Supreme Court of Illinois decided Davis v. Yenchko,[1] a...
Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules Sidewalk is Not “Pedestrian Way”
Sojenhomer, LLC owned and operated a pub near the intersection of County Highway G...
Wisconsin Supreme Court Overrules Two-Year-Old Precedent to Allow Ballot Drop Boxes
Wisconsin Statute Section 6.87(4)(b)1 provides that an absentee ballot “shall be mailed by the elector,...
Texas Justices Call Out McDonnell Douglas Framework
In a recent case involving an age discrimination claim against Texas Tech University Health...
Texas Supreme Court Upholds the First New Appellate Court in Nearly Sixty Years
For the first time in nearly sixty years, the Texas Legislature created a new appellate...