Supreme Court and Election Law Still Feel the Fallout 25 Years After Bush v. Gore
The 5–4 decision started a long slide in public approval for the court, accentuated by a widening partisan gap.
Cases, Courts, and Constitutions Across the 50 States
How Originalism Revived an Abortion Ban a Majority of the North Dakota Supreme Court Held Unconstitutional
Although three of the five justices on the court concluded the ban violated state due process rights, a state rule requiring a supermajority to strike down a law means the dissenting opinion controls.
"Liberty" is a Big Word, and That’s OK
A recent abortion rights decision in North Dakota demonstrates that the distinction between “fundamental” and “non-fundamental” rights doesn’t always make sense in state constitutional jurisprudence.
Differences in Kansas and Missouri Show Importance of Initiative Process
Unlike Kansans, Missouri voters can use ballot initiatives to enact laws and amendments their lawmakers refuse to pass.
State Court Oral Arguments to Watch for in December
Issues on the dockets include taxpayers’ standing to sue, incarcerated people’s rights to acquire property, and claims Instagram’s design is addictive.
Commentary
Bush v. Gore Introduced a Fringe Theory that Threatened Elections Decades Later
The “independent state legislature theory,” shut down in 2023 by the U.S. Supreme Court, would have robbed state courts of the power to review state laws related to federal elections.
Judging Democracy: A Former Justice Reflects on Bush v. Gore 25 Years Later
The legal battles over the 2000 presidential election were the beginning of a cautionary tale reminding us that democracy does not sustain itself.