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State of North Carolina v. Chambers
North Carolina Supreme Court upheld a law that allows a juror to be excused and substituted by an alternate after criminal trial deliberations have begun. Because the law requires the trial court to instruct the jury to begin deliberations anew, the majority said, a verdict will still be reached by the 12 people the state constitutional jury right guarantees, not 13.
Norfolk Southern Railway v. State Corporation Commission
Virginia Supreme Court held that a law permitting broadband service providers to install fiber optic cables across railroad property violates a state constitutional amendment providing robust "public use" requirements for eminent domain, as applied to a private company seeking to expand its network for financial gain.
Assessing the State Reaction to the Supreme Court’s Undermining of Property Rights
Twenty years after Kelo v. City of New London, there has been much progress, but abusive takings continue in many states.
City of Wenatchee v. Stearns
Washington Supreme Court upheld the legality, under the state's private affairs clause and the Fourth Amendment, of a police stop that was based on information received in a 911 call. A stop based on a 911 tip is lawful when circumstances indicate the tip is reliable and it contains a factual basis to give the officer reasonable suspicion of a crime, even if how the caller gathered the facts conveyed in the tip is not established.
How Not to Criticize a Judge
The Montana Supreme Court recently splintered over internal accusations of partisan bias.
Isaacson v. Arizona
Healthcare providers seek to block enforcement of remaining abortion restrictions, including an in-person pre-procedure visit requirement, 24-hour waiting period, and telemedicine ban for medication abortions, on the basis that they violate a state constitutional amendment passed in November 2024 that establishes a fundamental right to pre-viability abortion.
Stein v. Berger
Refused to halt an appeals court decision allowing a law to go into effect that shifted power to appoint members to the state elections board from the governor to the state auditor. The governor had requested a stay of the appeals court decision. A trial court found that the law was unconstitutional, and litigation on those issues is ongoing.
The Trouble Between Trump and the States on Education Policy
School services, funding, and DEI programs are at stake.
Dylan Erikson
Dylan Erikson is a student at NYU Law School. He previously participated in the Brennan Center’s Public Policy Advocacy Clinic.
Doe v. Uthmeier
A 17-year-old petitioned for a judicial waiver so that she may consent to an abortion without parental notification and consent. A Florida intermediate appellate court held that the judicial waiver law, which allows parental consent to be bypassed upon certain trial court findings, violates parents' due process rights. Anticipating Florida Supreme Court review, the intermediate court certified the question of the law's constitutionality to the state high court.
