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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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What’s at Stake in the 2024 Montana Supreme Court Elections
Races for two seats on the high court will shape the future of Montana law on criminal justice, environmental rights, and more.
Is a Life Sentence for 'Felony Murder' Unconstitutional?
The Pennsylvania high court heard oral arguments about whether the sentence violated the state constitution the same week that Colorado’s supreme court rejected similar claims.
Nebraska Supreme Court Allows People Who Completed Felony Sentences to Vote
The ruling comes months after Nebraska’s secretary of state blocked those with felony convictions from registering.
States Can Protect Unhoused People When the U.S. Supreme Court Won’t
The U.S. high court’s ruling allowing anti-camping laws underscores the importance and potential of state constitutional protections.
Pennsylvania Faces a Moment of Truth for Life Without Parole
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is considering whether requiring life in prison without the possibility of parole for so-called felony murder is unconstitutional.
Colorado Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to ‘Felony-Murder’ Rule
The court disagreed that life in prison for a murder committed by an accomplice is an unconstitutionally cruel sentence.
State Justices Speak Out Against Originalism
State supreme courts are increasingly a venue for debate over history’s role in constitutional interpretation.
State Court Oral Arguments to Watch for in October
Issues on the dockets include mail-in voting, line-item vetoes, and life-without-parole sentences.