Reproductive Rights
In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, ruling that the U.S. Constitution does not protect a fundamental right to abortion. Following this decision, many state trigger laws banning or restricting abortion went into effect, and several states have passed new abortion bans or restrictions.
Litigants are challenging many of these measures in state courts, pointing to rights to privacy, liberty, gender equality, equal protection, due process, and religious freedom in their state constitutions and other state laws. There are also active state constitutional amendment campaigns in several states. This litigation extends beyond abortion to fertility treatments, contraception, and other issues.
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How Years of Legislative Maneuvering Shaped this Year’s Judicial Elections
The outcomes in races in Ohio and North Carolina will be determined in part by legislatures that altered election rules to benefit their allies.
Threats to State Constitutional Abortion Protections
Even where voters pass abortion rights amendments, lawmakers and judges can undermine rights.
State Justices Speak Out Against Originalism
State supreme courts are increasingly a venue for debate over history’s role in constitutional interpretation.
A Michigan Prosecutor on the Importance of State Judicial Elections
State courts, including lower courts, decide issues critical to the communities they serve, but judicial races are too frequently overlooked.
Where Abortion Litigation in Georgia Stands
Last year the Georgia Supreme Court rejected one challenge to a six-week abortion ban, but additional state constitutional challenges continue to wind through the lower courts.
All Law Students Should be Educated About State Constitutions
Law professors planning lessons for the new academic year should consider incorporating state constitutions into the first-year constitutional law course.
California’s Constitution Is For the People
One of the nation’s most influential constitutions, California’s charter protects direct democracy, limits taxation, and secures individual liberty.
State ERAs Take Center Stage
Nevada became the second state in as many months to issue a major abortion ruling based on the state constitution’s equal rights amendment.