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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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The Nebraska Constitution: Creator of the Country’s Only Unicameral Legislature
The powers of initiative and referendum make the people the “second house.”
Can States Ban Federal Officers from Wearing Masks?
The answer likely boils down to whether courts believe masking is necessary for the federal government to do its job.
The Right to Counsel in an Age of Case-Specific and Systemic Inadequacies
State courts and constitutions can offer meaningful solutions to federal gaps in the right to counsel.
The Rhode Island Constitution: Royal Charter and a Modern Constitutional Convention
The Ocean State’s constitution is notable for protection of its surrounding waters; an update to the document in the 1980s included more than 40 amendments.
Pennsylvania's Groundbreaking Ruling Limiting Mandatory Life Sentences
Breaking with decades of precedent, the court ruled that mandatory life without parole for felony murder violates the state constitution’s ban on “cruel punishments.”
State Efforts to Allow Lawsuits Against Federal Officials Gain Speed
The approach of the proposed laws is legally sound, textually grounded, and more viable than many assume.
Behind the Movement Toward Humane Punishment
A recent Pennsylvania decision barring mandatory life without parole for felony murder is part of an accelerating trend toward broad state constitutional protections for people in the criminal justice system.
The Problem Punishment Poses for Democratic Orders: Ruination and Rights
Transcript of panel from Symposium: State Constitutions and the Limits of Criminal Punishments