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.
Filters
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.
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.
What Does Popular Sovereignty Really Mean?
Two new essays unpack recent state supreme court cases about the relationship between direct democracy and the power of state legislatures.
State Courts Determine Whether Abortion Rights Amendments Will Go Before Voters
Cases in multiple states demonstrate the significant roles state judges play in the direct democracy process.