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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Iowa Supreme Court Allows Six-Week Abortion Ban to Take Effect
The court’s stance on reproductive health has shifted dramatically since 2018, when it held that abortion was a fundamental right under the state constitution.
Texas Supreme Court to Hear Arguments Over Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Minors
Families of transgender children are asking the court to reinstate a temporary injunction blocking the ban.
Texas Supreme Court Refuses to Block Ban on Certain Medical Care for Trans Minors
The court said the ban does not infringe on parents’ right to choose medical care for their children.
SCOTUS’s Review of Ban on Trans Health Care Highlights Need for State Litigation
Even if the U.S. Supreme Court decides that bans on gender-affirming care for trans youth are constitutional, state courts can strike down such laws under state constitutions.
SCOTUS’s 2nd Amendment Decision Leaves Open Questions for State Courts
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the disarmament of a domestic abuser in United States v. Rahimi, but litigation over where to draw the line will continue.
Paths Toward Abolishing Qualified Immunity for Violations of State Constitutional Rights
States should not adopt the federal doctrine that shields officials from liability for civil rights violations.
Oklahoma Supreme Court Rejects Reparations for Tulsa Race Massacre
The decision is the latest — and perhaps final — blow to the massacre’s two remaining survivors in their decades-long quest for justice.
A Conversation with Chief Justice Loretta H. Rush of the Indiana Supreme Court
The chief justice talked about the Indiana’s lawyer shortage and the importance of judges getting out into their communities.