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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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State Court Oral Arguments to Watch for in May
Issues on the dockets include voting restrictions, gun regulations, and free speech rights.
A Conversation with Justice Anita Earls of the North Carolina Supreme Court
Earls spoke about bias, judicial decision-making in politicized environments, and how voters should assess judicial candidates.
What Does Pennsylvania’s Amendment Barring Race Discrimination Actually Do?
Federal constraints leave a narrow — but important — role for a 2021 state constitutional amendment addressing racial equality.
How Dismissed Claims in Georgia Trump Case Could Be Resurrected
The conduct described in the indictment implicates several state constitutional provisions.
Massachusetts’s High Court Upholds Novel Local Restriction on Tobacco Purchases
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.
The Contentious History Behind New York City’s Right to Shelter
New York State’s high court has yet to define the scope of the right to shelter, which comes from a Depression-era amendment to the state constitution.
A Primer on Advocating Independent State Constitutional Remedies
State supreme courts shouldn’t reflexively embrace federal approaches to remedying violations of constitutional rights.
Interpretive Methods in State Constitutional Law
Transcript of panel from Symposium: The Promise and Limits of State Constitutions