State Court Report is a nonpartisan news source, resource, and commentary hub covering state constitutional developments in high courts across the 50 states. Visit StateCourtReport.org.
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Do the new maps in Alabama violate a 2022 amendment that says laws "relating to the conduct of the general election shall be" adopted "at least six months before the general election”? @kwglenn.bsky.social explores the issue.
Major news out of Virginia: The state supreme court blocked a constitutional amendment that would have allowed Democrats in the legislature to redraw the state’s congressional map. Stay informed by subscribing to State Court Report’s free newsletter: bit.ly/45IXZ0M
After five decades at the Bronx Zoo, Happy, the elephant, has died. She was at the center of a landmark case that held that habeas corpus, the legal tool used to challenge unlawful confinement, does not apply to animals.
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A new article by @msmith750.bsky.social lays out the various ways that courts incorporate federal constitutional doctrine into state constitutional law.
Maine's constitution is innovative and progressive, from expanding the franchise to adopting a first-of-its-kind right to food, writes @umaine.bsky.social's Kaitlin Caruso.
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Montanans are using local politics to resist aggressive deportation policies, exposing a tension between Montana’s small-government tradition and the increasingly top-down politics of immigration enforcement, writes U of Montana law prof Constance Van Kley.
In a heated cite-state battle over gun regulation, the OH Supreme Court said municipalities could immediately appeal a preliminary injunction, treating city ordinances with the same democratic legitimacy enjoyed by state legislation, @slswan.bsky.social writes.
SCOTUS's Purcell jurisprudence, which discourages courts from changing election rules too close to an election, could magnify the impact of the Callais ruling, writes @wuc3.bsky.social. But state courts can help stave off democratic erosion by resisting the urge to invoke Purcell.
This is a really nice piece, as is the underlying law review article. I highly recommend it. I agree that state constitutions can play an important role in protecting the public interest from private capture. There remain hard questions about the role of the courts here, even at the state level.
State Court Report
The practice of interpreting state constitutions identically to their federal counterpart is often criticized in blanket terms. But the ways state courts lockstep vary widely.
well now im sad for Happy the Elephant, but still, fascinating piece in @statecourtreport.org about attempts to secure habeas relief for confined intelligent animals
statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...
Municipalities in Montana are testing the bounds of the state’s anti-sanctuary law, leading to a remarkable conflict between local government and the state attorney general.
State courts need not import a federal doctrine directing judges to avoid issuing rulings that could change election rules in the runup to an election.
A 2022 amendment, proposed by Republicans as a reaction to the loosening of absentee voting requirements during the pandemic, forbids election changes less than six months before Election Day.
A Bronx Zoo elephant that died last week was made famous in litigation over whether habeas corpus can be used to challenge the confinement of nonhuman animals.
A short piece I wrote for @statecourtreport.org on the problems "state capture" poses for state and local government, and how state constitutions might be used to prevent them.
statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...
Based on an article first published with @cardozolaw.bsky.social (link below).
State constitutions offer powerful tools for combatting control of state and local institutions by private interests.
