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Criminal Law
Criminal justice is administered primarily at the state and county level. The vast majority of incarcerated people in the United States are in county and state custody. Constitutional challenges in state courts usually focus on the rights of defendants and incarcerated people.
These cases can address criminal procedure and due process, search and seizure, the right to counsel and a jury trial, criminal jury rights, the right against self-incrimination, bail and excessive fees and fines, admissibility of evidence, sentencing, the death penalty, police misconduct, prison conditions, and habeas.
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State Courthouses in the ICE Age
The Trump administration’s actions signal a sea change in immigration enforcement and a broader assault on state and local governments.
The Ohio Constitution: Its History and Its Future
Recent amendments, and fights against them, demonstrate the importance of the state constitution.
Wyoming Supreme Court Signals Openness to Limiting Excessive Punishments
At oral arguments over the constitutionality of mandatory life-without-parole sentences for young adults, several justices suggested the right to be free from “cruel or unusual” punishments might be fundamental.
State Court Oral Arguments to Watch for in May
Issues on the dockets include limits on a reform-minded prosecutor, automatic life sentences for late adolescents, and a ban on misgendering LGBTQ+ senior citizens.
Michigan’s High Court Is Charting a Course Against Punitive Excess
The court has perhaps never been friendlier to criminal justice reform.
ICE’s New Courthouse Arrest Policy Set Them on a Collision Course with State Courts
The arrest of a Wisconsin judge comes after ICE walked back policies designed to ensure communities wouldn’t be afraid to access courts
The Massachusetts Constitution: the Oldest in the United States, and Often Ahead of its Time
A Massachusetts state court was the first to uphold the right to same-sex marriage on constitutional grounds.
Protecting Youth in the Criminal Justice System
A man sentenced to life in prison at 18 years old explains why state laws that funnel kids into the adult system are unjust and short-sighted.