Martha F. Davis

A majority of the New York high court upheld the state’s mandatory retirement rules for judges but avoided grappling with the complexities of the new ERA.

Courts in almost two dozen states have rejected the U.S. Supreme Court’s reasoning that discrimination based on pregnancy is not sex discrimination. 

In striking down mandatory life-without-parole sentences for felony murder, the Pennsylvania justices differed on the appropriateness of looking to international law.

In the shadow of federal law, some state constitutions address American Indian land, taxation, gaming permissions, voting rights, cultural protection, and governance. 

A Massachusetts state court was the first to uphold the right to same-sex marriage on constitutional grounds.

The Massachusetts high court rejected a claim that licensing requirements for nonresidents carrying firearms violated the right to travel. 

The New Mexico Supreme Court struck down an attempt by conservative activists to create anti-abortion enclaves in the state, which has expansive abortion protections.

Whether local governments must comply with federal immigration policy largely depends on state law. 

The decision is the latest — and perhaps final — blow to the massacre’s two remaining survivors in their decades-long quest for justice.  

The court rejected claims that the ban conflicted with a 2021 constitutional amendment guaranteeing a right to food. 

The ruling could provide a model for cities and towns to enact rules that differ from state law — in tobacco and alcohol purchasing, and even gun sales — without running afoul of preemption principles.

Many Native Hawaiians rely on lay midwives to provide culturally sensitive reproductive health care.

In declaring life without parole unconstitutional for people under 21, the state’s high court cited sentencing practices in Canada and the United Kingdom.

Massachusetts’s highest court confronts the nuances of federalism in a Second Amendment challenge to the state’s switchblade ban.

GOP-controlled cities and counties in pro-choice New Mexico are relying on a long-dormant federal law to outlaw abortion — in contradiction of state law.

A case challenging a Sunday hunting ban will help define the scope of a new constitutional amendment.

The Washington Supreme Court’s changing interpretation of its state “Privileges or Immunities” Clause shows how state courts can diverge from federal precedent over time.

Courts play an increasingly important role in enforcing states’ environmental rights amendments.

The court decision gives teeth to the state constitution’s promise of a “clean and healthful environment.”

Massachusetts’s high court rejected the U.S. Supreme Court’s narrow approach to determining fundamental rights in favor of a comprehensive analysis that considers evolving equality norms.

The Supreme Court used flawed legal comparisons in overturning Roe v. Wade. Looking forward, state judges must take context into account when engaging with other countries’ abortion laws.

Cases involving abortion, gun control, and public health pivoted on state preemption standards.