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Civil Rights
State constitutions guarantee equality, freedom from discrimination, fair treatment under the law, and a broad range of other civil rights. Issues that regularly crop up in state court include discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation or identity, age, or disability, abuses of power by government actors, as well as the availability of monetary damages for such state constitutional violations.
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2025’s Most Significant State Constitutional Cases
Leading legal thinkers weighed in on the state constitutional rulings our readers should know about from this past year.
Why We Should Care About Diversity on the Bench
New data shows women and people of color are underrepresented on state high courts.
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.
State High Courts Split on Laws Letting Survivors of Sexual Abuse Sue After Expiration of Statutes of Limitations
State supreme courts have emphasized different constitutional provisions to decide whether bills reviving time-barred civil causes of action for child sexual abuse claims are constitutional.
Everyone Benefits When Judges Come from a Variety of Backgrounds
Amid attacks on “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” the need for representative state supreme courts is as urgent as ever.
State Challenges to Immigration Enforcement Practices
Recent lawsuits in Wisconsin, New York, and California explore questions about the role of state law in federal immigration enforcement.
The West Virginia Constitution: Mountaineers Are Always Free
An early West Virginia constitution emancipated enslaved people in 1863, more than a year before the U.S. Constitution.