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McCombie v. Illinois State Board of Elections
Refused to accept an original action by the state’s house majority leader and voters, claiming that house districts drawn in 2021 are partisan and not compact, finding the complaint untimely and barred by laches because the plaintiffs did not exercise due diligence in bringing suit. The dissenting justice said the majority was wrong to discredit the plaintiffs’ argument that they had to collect data from multiple election cycles. Because the Illinois high court has never adjudicated a state constitutional partisan gerrymandering claim before, he opined, it has not provided guidance on whether such data — which was required for federal constitutional claims until the U.S. Supreme Court in Rucho v. Common Cause (2019) ruled such claims cannot be brought — is applicable for a state constitutional challenge.
People v. Taylor; People v. Czarnecki
Michigan Supreme Court held that mandatory life-without-parole sentences violate the state constitution’s protection against “cruel or unusual” punishment for anyone under age 21 at the time of the offense. The decision extends the court’s 2022 ruling in People v. Parks that such sentences are unconstitutional for those 18 or under.
N'Da v. Hybl
Nebraska Supreme Court held that statutory requirement that applicant seeking certificate to provide nonemergency medical transport must show the proposed service is required by "public convenience and necessity" does not facially violate state constitutional due process or bans on "special laws" or laws granting "special privileges and immunities." Also held that that the Nebraska Constitution's due process and equal protection clauses are coextensive with their federal equivalents, so federal rational basis review applies to substantive due process challenges to economic regulations, not the heightened standard the court had applied in a line of cases from the early 20th century.
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.
Ainslee Johnson-Brown
Ainslee Johnson-Brown is a constitutional law scholar and advocate specializing in judicial interpretation and the evolving role of state courts in protecting democracy.
North Carolina Could Be on the Verge of a Constitutional Crisis
If the courts hand a victory to the state’s losing supreme court candidate, citizens across the political spectrum could perceive the court as unfair — and the justices risk losing their legitimacy.
Atlantic Games, Inc. v. Georgia Lottery Corporation
Concurral to denial of certiorari by Justice Peteerson questioned whether the court should reconsider existing caselaw on the nondelegation doctrine in a different case because, in their view, it does not comport with original public meaning
People v. Hagestedt
Concurrence would have declined to lockstep with the United States constitution and engaged in an independent analysis of the Illinois constitutional provision
Donaldson v. City of El Reno
Held that the retroactive appliation of amendment to the Sex Offenders Registration Act, which placed certain residency requirements on sex offenders, was not punitive and therefore did not violate the ex post facto clause of the Oklahoma Constitution
Heos v. City of East Lansing
Held that new franchise fee charged to in-city consumers by utility provider and remitted to the city was an unlawful tax that violated the Headlee Amendment of the Michigan Constitution, which requires voter approval for new taxes
